Fullmetal Alchemist  Journeys of Amestris
by Akira Sage
Summary: Being stuck in Germany is not something the Elrics are ready to deal with. Takes place on both sides of the gate.
1. Chapter 1

**I clearly don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. (That was my disclaimer). **

****. . .

**Munich, Germany**

**1923**

**Older Brother - 18, Younger Brother - 17**

Two brothers walked along side each other down the crowded Munich streets. If one was just to look at them, they might not guess that the two were brothers. This is due to the fact that they shared very few physical characteristics, other than the paleness of their skin.

The younger of the two, who appeared to be around 13 (although this was technically not the case) had long, light brown hair that was pulled back at his neck, and wide grey eyes that were curiously taking in all of his surroundings. His companion, however, walked casually down the street, having seen it all before. The eldest brother had long golden hair tied in a pony tail, with eyes to match. This brother was actually rather tall (a strange twist in events considering he had been extremely short for his age nearly his entire life). He looked around 18 or 19.

"Are you sure it's okay for us to just leave like that, Brother?" the younger asked.

The older brother waved his hand through the air as if to say 'whatever'. "Well staying around wouldn't do much good . . . Besides, someone's gotta tell Gracia about Alfons . . ."

Without meaning to, his eyes shot to the girl who was trailing after them. She had olive skin and dark hair. She was crying. They locked eyes, brown and gold.

"What of his body?" the girl asked quietly. "We just . . . Left it there.

The eldest brother didn't answer, instead he kept walking.

"This other Alfons . . ." the younger brother said. "Did he cough a lot? Like teacher?"

The older brother looked him in the eye. "Yeah . . . He was sick. How did you know?"

"In some of my dreams . . . I think he and I shared consciousness."

The older brother nodded. "That fits my theory."

"Theory, Brother?"

"I'll tell you later . . . We're almost home." He faced the girl. "Noah, put on a brave face for Gracia, okay?"

The girl-Noah-nodded, and the group of teenagers entered the shop that ran under the flat where they would be staying.

A woman in her late-twenties with short light brown hair and sparkling green eyes greeted them from behind the counter. The little bells above the door chimed as they entered.

"Edward! Noah!" the woman, named Gracia, exclaimed. "And who is this?"

She was looking at the youngest brother, whose eyes were wide with awe.

"Brother, that's-"

"Gracia!" the elder one-Edward-replied quickly, interrupting his younger sibling. "This is my little brother, Al. I've told you about him, right?"

Gracia offered her hand to Alphonse. "Of course! How could I forget, what with the stories Ed tells us . . . And not to mention you and Ed's best friend share a name . . . Speaking of Alfons . . . Where is he? Edward, you two rarely leave the house separately, do you know where he went?"

Ed and Noah both looked down, tears creeping into their eyes.

"Ms. Gracia?" Al asked. "Maybe you should take a seat . . ."

. . .

Later that night, Edward and Alphonse sat together on the floor in Ed's room. Noah and Gracia were still downstairs, chatting and crying and sipping tea.

"So this other Alfons . . . You and him were pretty close, then?" Al asked his older brother.

Edward nodded. "We studied rocketry together and became friends . . . I needed something to do without alchemy, right?"

Al was silent for a few moments, thinking that over. Then he spoke again, "so this theory . . . Does it have anything to do with Mrs. Hughes back home and that woman downstairs?"

Ed nodded. "My theory is that there's another everyone on this side of the gate as the other. Everyone's got a double . . . Alfons Heiderich was your's. Gracia downstairs is the other Mrs. Hughes. There's even another Maes Hughes, although this one's kind of lousy as of late."

"Well, leaning on that theory, Brother, shouldn't Alfons have had a brother that's the other you?" Al asked.

Edward shook his head. "As far as I can tell, blood lines aren't the same here. For example, Gracia-_this _Gracia-and Officer Hughes aren't even married yet, but there's a little girl who looks a lot like their daughter in our world a few blocks away, with different parents. Hughes and Gracia like each other here though . . . And this Fuhrer Bradley's married as well, and I assume his wife looks like the Mrs. Bradley from Amestris. As far as I can tell only relationships like that matter here. I guess there is such a thing as a 'soul mate' . . ."

"So based on that there's _still_ another you out there somewhere," Al said, gesturing towards the window.

Ed shook his head and looked down. "The other Edward was killed in the war a few years ago . . . A zeppelin dropped a bomb where he was."

"A _what?"_

Edward chuckled. "Oh yeah, they don't have those in Amestris, do they? A zeppelin is a big blimp that they drop bombs from . . . It's not pretty."

"How do you know?" Al asked. "About the other Edward I mean."

"You said you remember, right?"

Al nodded.

"Well you know Lira tried to trap me . . . Before?" Ed asked. Al nodded. "Well, when she did that I was sent here, to the other Edward's body (like you with Alfons). Dad was there, and he noticed right away that it was _me_ and not the other me. They were living together or something . . . Then Hohenheim drove away in a car and the bomb blew up and I ended up back in Amestris . . . The whole thing's kinda fuzzy. Oh and I kind of forgot to tell you but . . . Dad . . . Uh, died . . . Earlier."

Both boys silent. Al hadn't known his father very well but it still stung a little to hear that he was gone. Edward felt guilty; that was no way to break that sort of news.

"So's teacher," Al said quietly.

"What?" Edward exclaimed. "No-how did . . ."

"She was sick, Ed, you know that," Al replied a little harshly.

After a few seconds of silence, Ed decided to change the subject.

"You're gonna have to ditch the get up, Al . . . people around here just don't understand style."

Al grinned and blushed a little. "Winry gave me your coat . . . She said it would fit considering I'm the same size you were when you were 16 . . ."

"Aw, come on there's no way I was the size of a 12-year-old when I was 16!" Ed began to rant. Al just laughed; it was good to have his brother back.

. . .

The next morning, Al, Ed, and Noah all sat down for breakfast at a near by café with Gracia, who was still dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.

A man with crop-cut black hair and hazel eyes caught sight of them and ran over. He was wearing a Police-Officer's uniform.

"Officer Hughes . . ." Noah grumbled under her breath.

Hughes began talking quickly. "Edward! Thank God you're alright! I promise you I have finally seen the light, me and a couple others are done with all of this crap! I swear it my days of darkness are over-"

CHH!

He was interrupted by Gracia slapping him across the face.

"You bastard!" she shouted.

Ed, Al, and Noah squirmed down in their seats feeling uncomfortable.

"Gracia-" Hughes began to protest, raising his hands in surrender.

"YOUR STUPID NATIONAL SOCALIST GROUP IS THE REASON ALFONS ISN'T SITTING DOWN FOR BREAKFAST WITH US!"

Everyone in the café had turned to watch what was happening.

"Gracia would you just let me expl-"

"He was just a kid! Hardly 17, hardly old enough to live on his own!"

"Please just let me-"

"And Noah! You treated her like dirt when she's got more moral character than you ever could!"

"Gracia, please I just-"

"You're a monster! Working for those people! How can you live with yourself?"

"I-"

"Half the population of this country is fleeing because of people like YOU!"

"Really, please I just need-"

"And dragging Edward and Alfons into it with you! And why was Noah there? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

"Gracia it's not-"

"And _furthermore_ you're the _worst_ police officer ever! All you do is sit around and drink beer all day!" Gracia glared at him, taking deep heavy breaths.

At this point, Edward, Alphonse, and Noah were practically under the table.

"I quit," Hughes simply, finally able to get word in.

"What?" Gracia asked.

"I'm done," Hughes told her. "I no longer support the National Socialist Party."

Garcia's face softened. "Oh . . . Well that changes things. Alfons's funeral will be held tomorrow at noon, if you'd care to attend. Until then, you'd better get back to your post."

She sat back down.

Hughes nodded. He turned to Ed. "If there's anyway I could possibly make up for this . . ."

"Actually officer," Edward said grinning evilly. "You could help us out with one little issue."

Al lowered his head. "Oh, Brother . . ."

Ed pulled out a pen and wrote down everything he known about the uranium bomb on a napkin and handed it to Hughes. "Burn that when you're done with it, but it'd be really great if you could get someone on that. I think my brother and I are gonna spend some times enjoying out lives while we're still living for now."

Hughes nodded. "I'll take care of it."

When he was gone, Gracia turned to Al and smiled and addressed the clothes she have given him to wear. "So those old thing fit you okay?"

Al nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you."

"Don't mention it!" Gracia insisted. "I like to think of Edward as my extended family, so it's nice to help him out when he'll let me."

Ed smiled sheepishly and took another bite of his breakfast.

"So, Al," Gracia continued. "Where were you these past few years? Edward always told us the two of you got separated when London was bombed . . . Where did you go from there?"

"Uh . .. Well . . . I-uh-"

"He went to France to live with out cousins," Ed saved him. Al didn't even know what London was yet. "Out Aunt heard that I was working with rockets here in Munich and Al took a train here as soon as he found out."

"Oh well that's very sweet," Gracia said. "Brothers should stick together."

Edward and Alphonse turned to each other and grinned.

_Always._

. . .

After the funeral service for Alfons Heiderich, Officer Hughes invited Gracia, Ed, Al, the rest of Alfons's rocketry team, and even Noah over to his house for tea.

The salary of a police officer isn't very high, but it was enough to get Hughes a small house with furniture, even in the poor state of economy.

At some point in the evening, Hughes grabbed Edward by the arm and pulled him aside, into the hallway.

"Ed, I took care of that _thing_ for you . . ." he whispered. "Some of the higher officials are looking into it now but it's all very hush-hush."

"Okay, thanks a lot lieu-_officer_ Hughes!" Edward scratched the back of his head and grinned, hoping Hughes wouldn't catch Ed almost calling him "lieutenant colonel".

Luckily for Edward, before Hughes had time to say anything, Gracia walked in. "Oh there you are! Please, come to the sitting room."

They did as she asked. Hughes sat in his big cushioned chair, and Ed sat in between Gracia and Gregory (one of the boys from Alfons's rocketry team) on the couch. The other boys and Noah were on the wooden floor.

"Edward, dear, we were wondering if you would tell us one of your stories," Gracia asked. Her voice was soft and sad. "Alfons always loved your stories so much . . ."

"Oh, I don't know . . ." Edward tried to protest.

"Come on, Ed!" Gregory exclaimed. "I'm sure Alfons is listening right now!"

Ed sighed. "All right . . . But just one."

"Stories, Brother?" Al asked.

"You mean Ed's never told you his stories?" Hughes asked, shocked. "Well Ed, better make it a good one, then! How about the one with Barry the Chopper? I always liked that one . . ."

"No, no." one of the rocketry boys-Paul-said. "Tell the one about the 5th Laboratory! That one's the best!"

Alphonse's eyes widened a little as he heard everyone talk about he and his brothers adventures. He had just regained his memories, yet everyone else already knew them?

"How about the one when you and Colonel Mustang fought for your alchemy evaluations?" Another boy suggested.

"My favorite was when Winry found your pocket watch . . . So romantic!" Gracia sighed.

"I like the one when you and your friends had to deliver a baby . . . That's pretty funny," Gregory said.

"Alright! Alright!" Edward held his arms up to silence them. "Alfons always said his favorite was the one about Lior, so that's the one I'll tell . . .

. . .

"So then," Ed concluded. "While that fat-ass Cornelo dealt with the angry townspeople, the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother left Lior, but not before being confronted by Rose, who wanted to make sure I knew how amazing I was-"

"That is _not_ what happened!" Al exclaimed. "Rose chased you down to yell at you for ruining her town!"

Everyone was silent; confused. Ed had always tired to convince them that his stories were real, and the way he and his brother talked about it, it sounded like they were talking about real events. And considering everything that had just happened with the gate, revealing the truth about themselves was no longer an option for the Elric brothers.

Al shot his brother a look of apology.

Hughes saved them by bursting into laughed. "Boy, you brothers are something else! It's like you actually believe every word you say!"

"Well, that's what makes a good story teller," Gracia praised them.

The others joined in with Hughes laughing, except for Noah who also knew the truth about the strange brothers without a home.

. . .

Alphonse Elric sat on the cot that Noah and Gracia had set up for him in Edward's room.

"Brother?" Al asked. "You said that married couples are the same here, but . . . Ms. Gracia and Officer Hughes don't seem to enjoy each other's company very much . . ."

Edward looked up from the book he was reading on the floor and grinned. "No way, trust me they're totally head over heals for each other. Give it a few months . . . Year tops."

Al squirmed around a little. "We won't really be here that long, will we Brother?"

"Why not? Where else are we gonna go?" Ed asked.

"Well . . . It's just that I've been thinking. You said that when you were in the same body as the other Edward, you saw our dad, right?" Well, that means other Edward _knew _our father, and maybe he was helping with research or something and that's why they were living together . . . I'm sure if we go back to this London place and track down the other you's friends and family we might be able to figure something out! Something important . . . Dad always was working on important stuff, right?"

Ed looked skeptical. "Al . . .?"

"Al kicked his legs back and forth, acting calm. Finally, he couldn't contain himself anymore and burst out, "okay fine! I just can't stand not having some bigger goal! I mean I'm not ready to stop adventuring yet, Brother! I want to see more, learn more . . . I'm not ready to settle down and just live in one place. That's never how we've worked!"

Edward burst out laughing. He wrapped his arms around his ribs because they were starting to ache.

"What's so funny?" Al asked defensively.

Ed sucked in a breath and recomposed himself. "When we were kids, we set out to bring out mother back. After that, we set out to get your body back. Then we were split up; you set out to find me and I set out to send a man to the moon. I guess you're right, Al . . . We seem to be incapable of resisting the impossible. These past few years I've been trying to work on something and was starting to think it was impossible. But now . . . I think together we might be able to get back to Amestris, and I think your idea might be a good place to start."

Al raised his eyebrows in alarm. "But, Brother . . . I thought alchemy didn't work on this side!"

"It doesn't, trust me I've tried," Edward admitted. "But something Dad said before . . . About opening the gate within ourselves. I think it might be possible . . . We'll have to dive further into it."

"So, we're going to London?" Al asked, his voice dripping with optimism.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, just give me a week to wrap everything up here with this rocket stuff . . ."

"Will you show me?" Al asked.

"W-what?"

"_Will you show me?" _Al repeated, smiling enthusiastically. "How you and the others make rockets work?"

Ed smiled and patted the ground next to him. Al jumped excitedly off his cot and sat down next to his brother, eager to hear what he had to say.

"Well, there was this guy named Isaac Newton," Ed began. "And he came up with three really important laws of science in this world. The third law is the building factor of rocketry. 'For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction'."

"That's like alchemy!" Alphonse exclaimed.

Ed nodded. "I never really thought about it that way, but I guess you're right, But as I was saying . . . The third law basically means that how ever much force is given in one direction will be equally distributed into the other . . . So the force of the gas going down pushes the rocket up."

"Well wouldn't you need an extreme amount of force, then? Just to lift the rocket, never mind get it into space."

Ed nodded. "Right . . . The moon is a long ways away for this world . . ."

. . .

**Feedback is greatly appreciated. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer - I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist**

**ALSO - I kind of morphed the ending of the movie to fit the theme of this fanfic, in case you didn't notice. So instead of going after the Uranium bomb themselves, they're going to London to try to get home and blah, blah, blah. In my head that's how the story always ended so I just figured what the hell . . .**

. . .

Note from me to readers - Because I'm just super OCD like that, I kind of feel the need to make sure this story is mostly historical fact, so it takes me a little longer to write every chapter. For example in this one, I had to figure out the average traveling speed of a car in 1923, than figure out the number of KM between the destinations I needed, then convert KM to miles and divide that by the average MPH in 1923 . . . All in all it took me about an hour to right one freaking paragraph of this chapter . . . So don't think I quit just because it's been a little while, I just need to check my facts sometimes.

. . .

**Resembool, Amestris**

**1917**

**(Earth Year: 1923)**

**Granddaughter - 18**

"So what happened in Central?" the little old lady asked as her granddaughter walked through the front door of their small home. "Where's Alphonse? And didn't you say Sheska was with you?"

The girl looked down, trying to hold back her tears. She was tall and thin, with pale skin. Shad had very long blonde hair that she wore in a sloppy bun, and big blue eyes.

"Winry?" her grandmother asked, waving her short little arms in the air.

"He's gone, Granny," Winry told her with a shaky voice. "He and Ed went back to the place where Edward's been all this time. I don't even know if they're alive . . ."

The old woman laughed.

"What's so funny?" Winry snapped.

"It's just that after all this time, you still haven't learned you lesson . . . Don't you know by now that those brothers always come back?"

Winry didn't say anything; she didn't want to break the old woman's heart. Despite the way she made it look, Pinako Rockbell cared for those boys just as much as she did for Winry.

"We'll just do what we always do . . . We'll wait," Pinako said. "And eventually . . . They will come."

Den-their big black dog that Winry had had since childhood-whimpered softly and rubbed against Winry's legs. He could tell what was happening, Winry knew it.

. . .

**Munich, Germany**

**1923**

"Are you sure you can't stay?" Gracia asked, tears welling up in her eyes. "I just lost Alfons a week ago and now you too, Edward?"

Ed shook his head. "I'm sorry, Gracia, but I just can't stay here. I made a promise to Alfons that I'd remember him when I got home, and he died trying to make that possible. I'm going to make sure his death wasn't in vain."

"What about you, Noah?" Gracia asked.

"The Nazis will be in greater power before you know it, I can tell. It's better for me to leave Germany freely while I still can," Noah replied.

Gracia looked at Alphonse. "And I assume you'll be sticking by your brother, then?"

Al nodded. "'Brothers should stick together,' right?"

Gracia nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. She sniffled once, then reached out and straightened Edward's collar. "Be safe."

"Always," Ed replied.

"Be careful."

"Of course."

"Stay out of trouble?"

"Never."

They both smiled at each other. Gracia had acted as a motherly figure for Edward and Alfons for nearly two years. Leaving was hard for him too.

"I've gotta say, Ed, I think I actually might miss those goofy stories of yours . . ." Hughes admitted.

"Ah!" Al gasped. "Brother, we almost forgot!"

"Oh yeah . . ." Ed grinned and handed on of his many research journals to Gracia. "That thing's filled with all of my stories. Some day when you guys have kids, so me a favor and pass them on, okay?"

Gracia nodded, then hugged the three of them. "Thank you, Edward. That's very sweet. You too, Al."

Hughes shook hands with Ed and Al, and after a pause with Noah as well. He handed Ed some paper. "This is the address of a friend of mine who lives in London. After you get off the ship to England, stop by his place. He and his wife are anxious to meet you, and they're offered to let you guys stay there while you gather your research."

"Okay, thanks Officer Hughes," Ed said.

He, Al, and Noah began to walk away then. Noah turned around to wave one last time, but Edward and Alphonse knew better.

_You never look back. _

. . .

Noah found them a ride with some other gypsies who were heading the same way as they were. When Ed and Al caught sight of their escorts, they almost turned around.

The one driving was strong, well built. He had black hair and brown skin, and a no-nonsense look in his eyes. The woman next to him also had black hair and brown skin, but her build was small, fragile, and her eyes were almost . . . Kind.

Scar and Lust but . . . Different.

Naturally, the Elric brothers were afraid at first. But this was to be expected, considering everything that had happened in the world the Elrics were from, with people who shared the same faces.

They would have turned down the ride and waited. Hatred as deep as that of Scar and Lust couldn't only be one-dimensional, right? But then the last thing they ever expected to happen occurred; Lust smiled and motioned for them to hurry.

"So where are you going?" Al asked them when they were in the back of the car.

Not-Lust turned around in her seat so she could see them. "To our family's home, in France. We'll take you as far as Freiburg, but then we've got to go south."

"Thank you very much for the ride," Al said politely.

Not-Lust smiled again. Edward flinched a little, for the Lust that he had known only smiled at someone else's misfortune. Even though they had become friends in the end, the feeling of unease was still there.

"What are your names, children?" she asked.

"I'm Alphonse Elric, and this is my older brother Edward. And out friend, Noah," Al replied.

"I've heard of you," Not-Scar said to Noah. "They say you can tell people's secrets just by touching them, right?"

Noah nodded. "Yes."

Al, who had not yet heard this, looked at his brother with wide eyes. Ed nodded, and Al squirmed a little away from Noah, just in case. There were just some things you keep to yourself.

"Well I hope you're not just a con-artist. It's people like that who ruin the name of our people."

Not-Lust pushed Not-Scar's shoulder. "Dear me, Brother you sound almost hostile!"

He cracked a small smile. "Sorry, sister."

"Well, you know our names. What should we call you?" Edward asked.

"You may call us 'friend' or 'brother' and 'sister' or even 'gypsy' if you'd like," Not-Lust said. "It truly doesn't matter. My brother and I are going to France to join our family. When we get their I'll find my partner, Dmitri, and we'll be married. Until then, until we have family by our sides, we don't have names of significance."

"You're getting married?" Al asked. There was something in his voice that Edward picked up on . . . Almost, happiness.

"Uh-huh. Dmitri is the love of my life . . . He's meeting us at our family's home where we'll all live until we see every last Nazi imprisoned."

"High hopes . . ." Ed muttered bitterly.

Not-Lust shrugged. "Maybe so, but what's the point in living without high hope?"

Ed thought of everything he and his brother had lived for these past 8 years. Resurrecting the dead, returning a soul to it's lost body, sending man into space in order to find a way home, looking for a "dead" brother, and now traveling to London to figure a way to pass between dimensions.

He said nothing.

"So how long until we reach Freiburg?" Noah asked.

"Eight and a half hours, at least," Not-Scar replied.

"What?" Ed exclaimed, waving his arms in frustration. "You've got a car, why the hell will it take that long?"

"Freiburg is farther than you think," Not-Lust replied in a kind voice. "And we'd like to get their without any accidents."

Ed grumbled in frustration and slumped back against the edge of the truck.

"Brother!" Al hissed in his ear. "I just realized something . . . The gypsies here in Germany, and the Jewish people too . . . It's kind of like the Ishballan war back home!"

Ed nodded grimly. "Yeah . . . I guess you're right, Al."

"Well isn't there something we can do? Before a war starts!" Al exclaimed.

Ed bent his head lower so his brother wouldn't be able to see his eyes. For any fool knows; eyes can give away our deepest buried emotions. "No, Al . . . we can't. If we truly want to get home than we can't let the affairs of this world concern us, it's just not our place."

"Refrain from helping people?" Al asked. "But brother, we've never done that!"

"So I take it you're not from Germany?" Not-Scar asked.

Both the brothers jumped. They hadn't noticed they were being listened to.

Alphonse shook his head. "Ah, no, we're not."

"Well then where _are_ you from and why are you here?" Not-Lust asked curiously.

"They're like us," Noah answered. "they have no more homeland."

Not-Lust shrugged. "Well, alright then. So what are you boys doing in Germany, then?"

"Brother was studying rocketry!" Al replied proudly.

"Well that's very interesting. So I guess you know better than anyone what's really out there then?" Not-Lust asked Ed.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, I guess so . . ."

"So is there really anything _spectacular_ out there?" she asked, sounding 100% interested.

Ed raised his eyebrows.

"Tell them about the asteroid belt, Brother!" Alphonse suggested. "That's pretty spectacular."

Ed nodded. "Alright . . . Well, in between the planets Mars and Jupiter, there's this thing called the asteroid belt. It's a million chucks of rock just shooting around. Some scientists believe that it was once a planet, too. But before it was fully formed, it crashed into something and broke into a bunch of tiny asteroids."

"To think that something as big as a planet could just break like that . . ." Al wondered aloud.

"That _is_ pretty amazing," Not-Lust agreed. "So what sparked your interest in rocketry, Edward?"

Ed was caught off guard by her question. How could he possibly answer without giving away too much of the truth?

"I guess I was just looking for a way home," he replied.

Not-Lust-who of course assumed he was speaking metaphorically-smiled. "Well said."

There was silent for a few moments.

Alphonse gasped, realizing something. "Wait! We don't have very much money, I don't know if we'll be able to pay you for driving us."

Not-Lust shook her head. "We're all going the same way, right? What's the difference?"

"There must be something we can offer," Ed agreed with his brother. "We Elrics live by the rule of equivalent exchange. You can't gain without giving."

"Why don't you give them your stories?" Noah suggested. "I'd say those are worth and 9-hour car trip."

"You have stories?" Not-Lust asked, a sparkle forming in her eye. "My brother and I love stories! Please tell us some!"

Edward looked at his younger brother, who shrugged.

"Alright," Ed said. "We'll tell you stories . . ."

And for the next eight and a half hours, that's what they did. Not-Lust and Not-Scar ate every word they said right up. They loved the idea of multi-detentions, and sometimes appeared to believe them.

When the car finally pulled to a stop, Not-Lust looked sad.

"This is where we part ways," Not-Scar said. "It was very nice to meet you, and thank you for sharing those wonderful stories. They'll be something to talk about at my sister's wedding."

"No problem, and thank _you_ for the ride," Ed replied.

Before they drove away, Not-Lust grabbed Noah's hand. "Our people must stay together. You have family with us if you ever need it, Sister Nomad."

\When they had turned down a different road and were out of sight, Noah opened her hand, revealing a small piece of paper with an address written on it. Before either of the Elric brothers could see it, she tucked it into the pocket of her dress.

"Where to now, Brother?" Alphonse asked.

"Well, we should probably find an inn," Ed suggested. "And tomorrow I'll find a way to get us a car to Calais. We'll have to drive all day, it's 14 hours away from here . . . We'll stay over night there before boarding a ship to England, which will probably take about 8 hours. From their we'll just find a way to London, I guess. It should only be about 3 and a half hours by car . . ."

Al sighed. "We left Munich at 11am and now it's 7 o'clock at night! I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm exhausted. Couldn't we just take a train?"

"I agree with Alphonse," Noah said with a yawn. "Fourteen hours in a car with you two sounds like murder . . ."

Ed tried to ignore her attempt at teasing them and shook his head. "In this economy, even in France trains are expensive. If we want to sleep with a roof over our heads we'll have to deal with hitch hiking."

. . .

Later that night, after the brothers and their companion had eaten dinner and gone up to their rooms, Ed and Al sat on their beds, talking.

Noah was in a room across the hall from theirs, so Al figured it was safe to talk now.

"Brother, does Noah know about us?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah . . . That stuff Scar-or . . . Not-Scar rather-was saying about her is all true. She knows everything."

"She looks like Rose," Al muttered. "But she acts differently. Rose is much happier now a days."

"Really?" Ed asked with a grin. "Well that's good to hear. How's that kid of hers?"

"Good," Al replied. "He's really clingy and annoying though . . . But I guess all little kids are."

They were silent.

"Okay . . . I can't take it anymore, Al I've gotta admit it . . . This is weird," Ed said, shaking his head. "I can't get used to you _not_ being an 8-foot tall suit of armor."

Al laughed. "_You _think it's weird? I just got a bunch of memories back of being a disembodied soul! _That's_ weird!"

The two boys laughed and laid back on their beds. It was almost like old times.

"Brother . . . I don't understand," Al said, his voice changing. "Scar said that when Lust was alive, he had loved her, but in this world their siblings. I thought you said-"

"Lust loved someone else, Al," Edward interrupted. "When she was a human she was in love with Scar's brother, and he loved her back. That's what a soul-mate is . . . It can't just be one-sided."

"Well, I think that's pretty messed up," Al said. "Having two people love you and having to choose which one you're going to love back . . . I mean, I guess you'd understand though, huh Ed?"

Edward's torso shot up and he looked at his brother. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Rose and Winry are both in love with you, but you chose to love Winry back, right?" Al teased.

"I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH WINRY!" Ed shouted.

Al raised his hands in surrender and spoke with a mocking tone, "whatever you say, Brother . . ."

Ed decided to change the subject. "So . . . Uh, 26 hours to England then, if you don't count the down time. You ready, Al?"

He nodded. "Mhmm. Tomorrow morning we should call Ms. Gracia and Officer Hughes, don't you think?"

"Sure," Ed agreed. "I'm sure they've got a phone here. Until then, we should get some sleep, we've got a long day of driving tomorrow."

Al groaned and smashed his pillow over his face. "Great . . ."

. . .

"Hello?" a groggy voice answered.

"Gracia? It's Edward."

"Edward?" she exclaimed, sounding fully awake now. "Where are you? Are you okay? Are Noah and Alphonse with you? Are you lost? Do you need to come home? Why are you calling so early? Did something-"

"Gracia!" Ed interrupted. "Calm down! We're in Freiburg, we're fine, Noah and Al are still with me, we don't need to go home w know exactly where we are and we're calling this early because we probably won't have access to a phone until tomorrow or later tonight and we knew you'd worry!"

Back in Munich, Gracia's face sunk in embarrassment.

"Oh well . . . it was kind of you to think of me but I wasn't worrying at all!" she lied. In truth, she had gone through 22 handkerchiefs and bitten her nails down to stubs.

"Uh-huh, sure." Ed shook his head, even though she couldn't see. "Well, just checking in. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Alright. Now you kids need to stay out of trouble, alright?" Gracia asked.

"Mhmm, whatever," Ed mumbled. "Bye!"

He hung the phone back on it's receiver and thanked the inn keeper.

As the three of them walked away from the inn, Al leaned in closer to his brother and whispered in his ear, "do you think if we tried to call Winry and Aunt Pinako . . .?"

Ed shook his head. "Sorry, Al."

. . .

**Central, Amestris**

**1917**

**(Earth Year: 1923)**

The normally obnoxiously loud sounds Central seemed dulled in light of the mood. Twelve people were standing in a three-walled room that had probably been an office before the opening of the gate.

"Do you realize how important this is to science?" one the men was shouting. He had messy, gray, hair and pale, wrinkled skin. He was wearing a lab coat with a Military seal no the pocket. "Not to document it would be a crime against humanity!"

"We've already told you, Dr. Rue, you must forget everything you've seen here today!" one of the other men said. "It's an old secret that must be kept."

"But, with this information, alchemy could advance so much!" the doctor continued.

A few feet away, in the corner of the room, the only woman present sighed. She had blonde hair, pulled back with only her bangs falling over her red-brown eyes. She wore a blue military uniform, and had a gun-loaded and ready-holstered on her belt.

She knew where this argument was going-no where. The doctor simply could not have his way, it was in the government's best interest.

"Doctor Rue you are dismissed!" the second man shouted.

The woman sighed again. If the doctor didn't stop arguing soon, he'd end up with a bullet in his head.

While the first two men continued arguing, a third leaned over and whispered to the woman, "how much longer?"

He was tall, with straight black hair that fell in his face, hanging in his dark, dark, eyes. Or-rather, his _eye. _Where there had once been a left eye on the man's face was now a large eye patch that covered any trace of memory. He, too, was wearing a military uniform.

"1,000 cens says less than a minute before he gets kicked out," the woman replied.

He smiled. "Deal."

"You won't stop me!" the doctor exclaimed. "This information will be documented with or without the government's permission! I have rights!-"

"Have the doctor escorted to a federal prison," the second man said to three of his guards. "Where he'll serve life for treason."

The dark-eyed man's mouth fell open. The woman smiled and held out her hand. The man grudgingly slapped a bill into it.

"I'm going easy on you," the second man told Dr. Rue, as three others dragged him away. The doctor screamed in protest, but it didn't make a difference.

After that, left in the room were seven men and only one woman.

The man who had been yelling at the doctor took a deep breath. He had graying brown hair and harsh hazel eyes. His name was Brigadier General Peterson. That name was fresh on everyone's tongue, since he had just earned the title a week and a half before after a higher up had been killed when the gate was opened.

"Roy Mustang," he said.

The man with the dark eye raised his right hand to his forehead and clicked his heals together at the sound of his name.

"The Fuhrer has decided that you will be promoted to your old post as Lieutenant Colonel, and take your old subordinates with you." Peterson looked very stressed and clearly disinterested.

"Yes, sir," Mustang replied.

"Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye and Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc," Peterson said.

The woman and another man with messy blonde hair, small eyes, and a cigarette poking out of his mouth followed suit.

"Keep and eye on him," Peterson told them, eyeing Mustang.

"Yes, sir, as always!" they chorused.

Peterson nodded once, then quickly walked away, taking long strides.

"Furey," Mustang said.

A short man with spiky black hair looked up. "Sir?"

"Go call the Rockbell residence, make sure the girl got home alright."

Furey nodded, and walked away to find a phone.

"Breda," Mustang said.

"Yes?" asked a rather plump man with tan skin and buzzed, red, hair.

"Send someone for my things, would you? I'd like to move back to Central as soon as possible."

Breda sighed and left as well.

"Falman."

This time, a tall man with gray hair and squinty eyes answered. "Yes, sir?"

"File an MIA report for Alphonse Elric . . . Don't give away too much," Mustang commanded. "Maybe plaster his face on some posters so it looks like we're actually searching."

Falman nodded and he, too left.

That only left Mustang, Hawkeye, and Havoc in the three-walled office.

"Havoc," Mustang said, his eyes locked on Hawkeye. "Go . . . Find some paper work to do."

"Ah, ah, ah, sir . . ." Havoc teased. "The General specifically asked me to keep an eye on-"

"THAT'S A LAME JOKE, NOW GET OUT!" Mustang shouted at him.

Havoc raised his arms and slowly backed out of the room. "I get it, I get it . . . Three's a crowd . . ."

"NOW HAVOC!" Mustang and Hawkeye screamed simultaneously.

Havoc laughed as he turned and ran off to find something to do.

When he was gone, Hawkeye looked down, her face falling. When she spoke her voice lacked it's normal ferocity. "Sir, may I speak?"

"As friends or as officers?" Mustang asked.

She sucked in a deep breath. ". . . friends."

Mustang's face showed temporary shock. For usually, when that question was asked, she'd always reply "as officers" and give a lame excuse about how she doesn't mix professional and personal relations. "Shoot then, _Riza."_

"Sir, I-"

"If this conversation is strictly casual, then don't expect to get away with calling me 'sir,'" he interrupted, grinning playfully in a thin attempt to lighten the mood.

Hawkeye sighed. "_Roy,_ I . . . I've been a little-well . . . A _lot_ worried . . . About the Elrics. Not as soldiers but as friends, how do we know what happened to them?"

Mustang's face hardened and he looked down to avoid her big, sad eyes. "We don't . . . But Ed survived the last time, so we can only assume they're alright this time, too. Otherwise, the gate could still be opened from their end."

"But, S-_Roy . . . _they're just children! Especially Alphonse_ . . . _there must be some way to contact them!" Hawkeye pressed. She was starting to sound a little hysterical.

Mustang snickered. "Well, Riza, I never thought I'd see the day but-well, it almost seems like you sincerely care for those boys."

Hawkeye looked slightly embarrassed. "So you're telling me that after all these years you don't care for them at all?"

Mustang sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Riza . . . Whether or not we care doesn't change the facts. They may look like kids on the outside, but they're more grown up than half of the adults I know. What we need to worry about is covering up their tracks. For now, that's all we can do for them."

Hawkeye dropped her gaze. "Stupid man . . ."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer - I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist**

**ALSO - I would like to apologize for any grammatical/spelling errors. I'm having to type this on my home computer which has suckish spell-check and no grammar check AT ALL so . . . Yeah, sorry! I don't really read over my typed work very often . . .**

_. . ._

**Calais, France**

**1923**

"Ugh," Ed complained as he stretched his arms out. "Fourteen and a half hours jam packed into a car with 7 other men; all old. Not the way I planned on spending my Saturday . . ."

"I know!" Noah agreed. "We left at nine and now it's nearly midnight! Where are we going to find an inn at this late hour?"

Al yawned. "At lease we found a ride all the way out here."

Ed nodded. "Yeah . . . And just think, tomorrow we'll be in London, finally getting some answers."

Al smiled, excited. "I just know we'll find a way home, Brother! I can't wait to see Amestris again . . ."

"Yeah," Ed agreed. "And just imagine the look on everyone's faces once we're there!"

While the Elric brothers discussed their plans for the future, Noah let a sad smile creep across her face. She felt around in her pocket and was relieved to find that the small paper was still there.

_Just in case._

. . .

**Resembool, Amestris**

**1917**

**(Earth Year: 1923)**

"Winry!" Pinako called from downstairs. "Mail's here!"

Winry lifted her head off of her desk. She had fallen asleep tinkering with some old parts, trying to figure out what they were. She decided to abandon the effort and go collect her mail.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Pinako handed her a single envelope.

"You can go back to sulking in your room now, if you wish," her grandmother said smartly.

"Thanks for the permission," Winry retorted. She turned around and walked back up.

When she got to her room, she looked at the address on the letter

_Central, Amestris_

_Miss Winry Rockbell_

_Resembool, Amestris_

_Rockbell Automail_

The return address was from Central?

"Who do I know in Central?" Winry asked herself. "Who would write me anyway . . .?"

She ripped open the envelope and two pieces of paper fell into her lap. She picked up the top one;

_Winry,_

_We found this at the house of Shou Tucker, along with some other things. Forensics just released it from evidence, so I figured it should finally be sent to you. Sorry it's seven years late!_

_Maria Ross_

Winry flipped to the next piece of paper, her curiosity growing.

She gasped, so shocked that she actually let both papers float on to the floor below her feet.

For it was on the second sheet of paper that she saw it-the familiar, sloppy, handwriting. It had been smudged over; written by a lefty.

Ed.

With a shaking hand, she reached down and picked it up. She sat on down on her bed.

She remembered being 11-years-old and very cross with Ed and Al for not writing her. The only mail she had ever gotten regarding the Elrics was a letter from Mustang's office, telling Pinako that Edward has passed his alchemy exam and wouldn't be returning home any time soon.

But the whole time-he had written her after all, and the idiot just forgot to send it?

_Dear Winry,_

_Sorry I haven't written you or Aunt Pinako yet. Al and I have been really busy, but I know that's not a very good excuse. I passed the State Alchemy Exam, though! That's pretty cool, huh? I'm the youngest person ever to do it. Oh, and something you'll be interested in-Al and I helped deliver a baby (sort of). They named her Elysia Hughes. Honestly, I think that babies are just too damn small, but it's pretty cool how life is brought into the world, huh? It also reminded me why I'm here. I have to get Al his body back . . . I owe it to him, it's my fault he's like this. And I promise Winry, I WILL get it back for him, even if it means sacrificing my own life. I'm so afraid he hates me . . . But I'll fix it! He'll be normal again, and soon! We're both pretty homesick, but Mr. Tucker and his little daughter, Nina, are being really nice to us. Hopefully we'll be back for Christmas . . . Can't miss out on your Granny's Stew, right? Oh, and I almost forgot! I know you don't know much about alchemy, but I recently discovered I can transmute (use alchemy) without a transmutation circle (I really hope you remember what that is without me having to tell you)! The only other person I've ever met who can do this is out teacher . . . And I've never been able to do it before! Maybe it's got something to do with the night we tried to bring our mom back . . ._

_I really miss you Winry. Al does too. Maybe come to visit soon, okay?_

_Ed_

_PS - The automail works great! I can't even tell you how many times it's saved my ass already!_

Winry clutched the paper tightly in her hands and slowly let her gaze drift to the parts on her desk.

_The automail works great!_

Looking at the pieces, she suddenly remembered. Those were some pieces of Ed's original automail that she had saved.

Tears began to form in her eyes. That damn Ed! That idiotic, stubborn, self-absorbed, impossible, whiney, annoying, over-protective, caring, loveable, kind, concerned, alchemic genius, JERK!

That sprouted an idea in Winry's head.

If there was one thing she knew about the Elrics, it was that they weren't just her friends, or her best friends, they were her family. And so what if the odds were against them? They could still come home to her-she knew it. There must be a way, somehow.

A memory played in her head. She and Ed were 7, Al was 6. She had found an injured rabbit in the garden and helped Trisha nurse it back to health. Now it was time to set it free. She was crying. Ed and Al both came up behind her and put an arm on her shoulder.

"_Our mom always says that when you love something, you should let it go," Ed told her._

"_Yeah," Al agreed. "And if it loves you too, it'll always come back in the end."_

Winry made her decision right then and there; she _would_ see the Elrics again. Even if it wasn't until she died and they met at the place where the dead go.

She grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and began to write. If Ed could do it, so could she.

_Dear Edward and Alphonse,_

_. . ._

**The English Channel**

**1923**

Alphonse sat down on the floor of their ferry. He looked a little green.

"Hey, Al . . . are you okay?" his older brother asked.

Al looked up at him and gave a shaky laugh. "Amestris is landlocked . . . This is nothing like Teacher's boat!"

Ed chuckled. "Don't worry, Little Brother, only four more hours!"

Al groaned.

Noah patted his back, a look of pity on her face.

. . .

When they finally _did_ reach England, poor Alphonse ran right off the ferryboat and onto the dock. As soon as his legs hit the wood, though, he fell down on his face.

"Careful!" Noah called as Ed laughed behind her. "You're legs are going to be a little wobbly from being on the water for so long."

"Gee, thanks for the heads up," Al replied sarcastically. His head was still spinning from the sea sickness and the nose-dive.

Ed held out his hand and pulled his younger brother to his feet. "Anyone know what time it is?"

"Four thirty," Al told him, pointing to a clock hanging from a store window across from them. "Where are we, brother?"

"Dover," Ed replied. "If we hurry we might be able to catch a ride to Hughes's friend's house in London . . . And tomorrow we can start researching."

"We've got a little money left, Brother," Al said. "Why don't we just take a taxi?"

Edward nodded at his brother's plan. "Alright . . . Hey, Noah, why don't you go get us one? I've gotta talk to Al . . ."

He handed her the money in his pocket in case the driver asked for pay upfront. She nodded and ran off.

"What do you want to talk about, Brother?" Al asked.

"We need to think of something to say to these people, Al. Hughes told us they're willing to let us do research at their home, but they're going to want some extra information. So, what do we tell them?"

Al thought for a moment, then replied, "what if, we wait until we've seen the people? If they're the doubles of people we knew and trusted in Amestris, then we tell them the truth. If not, we'll just think something up after looking at what we find. That way our stories will definitely fit. Just like always, right, Brother?"

Ed thought that over. "Alright . . ."

. . .

"This is as far as the road goes," the driver told them. "But if you follow this old walking path, it'll lead you right up to the Stanley estate. Big farm, you can't miss it."

"Thank you for the ride," Al told the driver. He, Ed, and Noah got out of the car and started walking up the hill.

. . .

About twenty minutes later, they reached the top and caught sight of a big, blue, house. The lights were on inside, and smoke was coming out from the chimney.

Panting from the long, upward, walk, Ed reached out and knocked on the door.

A woman answered a second later. Standing behind her was a man; assumingly her husband.

Ed and Al's jaws dropped a considerable amount of inches.

The woman, with long, blonde, hair and tough brown eyes was unmistakably Riza Hawkeye. The man, who was tall with black hair falling in his face was identical to Roy Mustang, other than his eyes, which we blue (and there were two of them).

"Can we help you?" the woman asked.

"Officer Hughes sent us," Noah told her. "He said we could stay with you."

Ed and Al were still gaping at them.

The woman smiled. "Of course! You must be Edward and Alphonse, yes? And Noah? I'm Lisa and this is my husband, Roy."

Ed and Al's mouths dropped further towards the ground.

"Come in," Roy welcomed them. "You must be freezing out there!"

The two brothers attempted to compose themselves as they stepped into the Stanley's home.

Lisa and Roy led them to a sitting room with two matching couches.

"Please, sit," Roy said.

"I'll go make some tea," Lisa offered.

Ed, Al, and Noah sat next to each other on the longer sofa, while Roy reserved seats for himself and his wife on the shorter one.

"So," Roy began. "Hughes tells me you're quite the scientist, Edward."

Ed nodded modestly. "I'm alright, I suppose."

Roy shrugged. He carried the same cocky manner as the other Roy-the one with the eye patch and bossy persona (at least that's what Ed thought). "I've also heard you're a brilliant story teller."

Ed and Al glanced at each other. Al nodded.

"Well, you see, sir . . ." Edward started. "The thing is . . . Those aren't stories. And once your wife returns I'd like to prove it to you."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me that you and your brother are from another dimension where alchemy continued to advance to the point where it's more important than Newton's laws?"

"That's the guy with the apple, right, Brother?" Al whispered. Ed nodded.

Lisa reentered the room, holding a tray of teach cups which she passed out.

"Sit, Dear," Roy told his wife in the kind of voice you use when speaking to a tall tale-telling child. "The Elrics are going to show us proof that their stories are true!"

"Oh, my!" Lisa replied in the same tone. She sat next to her husband.

Ed grumbled. He hated being treated like a kid almost as much as he hated being called "short".

He set his tea cup on the coffee table and stood up. He ducked his head so they wouldn't be able to see his cocky grin. "What did Hughes tell you about our stories?"

"Well, about how you were an alchemist," Lisa said.

"And you helped people, kind of like a hero," Roy added.

"You worked for the military . . ." Lisa continued.

Roy thought a moment, then snapped when he had an idea (something that Ed and Al automatically cringed to). "And you had a mechanical arm and leg!"

Ed nodded, and lifted his head so they could see his face. "Stuff like that doesn't exist in this world though, right?"

Roy nodded. "Of course not! Not with modern science anyway . . ."

He let his jacket slide off his shoulders, revealing the automail that Winry had given him a few weeks prior when he went back to Amestris.

Roy and Lisa's eyes grew wide in shock.

To further prove his point, Edward unbuttoned the top of his shirt, revealing the place where his automail and flesh came together.

"It's pretty handy," Ed mused, outstretching his fake arm and flexing his fingers. "It's really hard to break . . . And hurts a lot more than flesh when you get hit with it. Helps with fighting, you know?"

"I-impossible!" Lisa stuttered. "Hughes said they were stories . . . Just stories!"

Al shook his head sadly. "Unfortunately not. In our world, there are two people who look and sound just like you. Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye. We knew someone named Hughes as well, but he was murdered a few years ago."

"There was another Edward in this world," Ed added. "He didn't live very far from here. He was killed by a zeppelin bombing in 1921, during the war."

Liza gasped. "That's how Edward Matthews died! N- . . . now that I think about it, you look a lot like him. But your hair is longer, and his eyes were blue, not gold."

Roy gripped his head in his hands. "This is unbelievable . . ."

"We need to figure out a way home," Al said. "That's why we came. The other Edward was living with our real father, Hohenheim, who was here as well. We need to see everything they were working on."

. . .

The next morning, Alphonse awoke to a pain in his stomach. He sat up, turning a pale greenish color and looked at his brother's bed (which was positioned parallel to his).

"Brother?" Al asked groggily. He grabbed his stomach. "I feel the same way I did on the boat . . . Is it normal for a relapse of sea sickness?"

"No," Ed replied, sounding terrible. "I feel it too. It must have been that sea food we ate before getting on the ferry yesterday . . . I told you that stuff was under-cooked!"

"Ugh," Al groaned. "I think I'm gonna vomit!"

"Me too . . ."

Al lay back down on his bed. The movement made his stomach flip over. "What do we do? The last time I was this sick, I had either Mom or Aunt Pinako-Well . . . Mom or Winry to take care of me! I don't know how to make myself better!"

"No dairy products for one," Ed told his younger brother. "Or chocolate . . . Or acidy fruits. But right now I'd rather just not eat at all, I feel so sick."

"Mhmm," Al agreed, nodding his head slightly. His eyes were shut tight because the pain in his stomach was growing, and appeared to be spreading to his head.

"Al, I can't get up," Ed said.

"I can't either."

"Well now what?" Ed asked, getting a little angry and instantaneously regretting it. Anger doesn't help an upset stomach.

Luckily for the helpless Elrics, there was a knock on the door then.

"Come in!" the brother chorused.

Lisa entered then. When she saw the green tint on the boys' faces, she grimaced. "Oh, no . . . You didn't eat anything from that port in Calais, did you?"

They nodded.

She flinched. "Roy and I ate their once . . . Worst food poisons I've ever seen . . ."

The brothers groaned in unison.

"Let me go get you boys each a bucked, you're going to need it." She left the room.

"Well this is flipping _perfect!_" Ed said sarcastically "How the hell are we supposed to get anything done now?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer - I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist**

_**. . .**_

**London, England**

**1923**

For two weeks the Elric brothers were bedridden. In that time they had each lost a considerable amount of weight due to loss of appetite and lots of vomiting.

Noah (who had been lucky enough to not have been hungry when Ed and Al got their undercooked sea food) and Lisa has been taking care of them.

Finally, after lying in bed for 16 days (aside from using the bathroom), Edward got out of his bed all on his own. A few minutes later, so did Alphonse.

"We should call Gracia," was Al's first thought. "It's been over two weeks since she last heard from us, she's probably worried."

Ed nodded and tossed Al his clothes.

While pulling up their pants, the Elrics realized that they had both grown at least a few inches while they were ill because their trousers were now high waters.

"Perfect," Ed mumbled negatively. "Now I've gotta go buy new pants . . ."

"Hey, at least we know there's still a chance of you turning into a normal sized person!" Al teased.

"You're sure feeling better," Edward grumbled. He took a step forward and stumbled a little. "Aw, crap! Winry just replaced my automail and I've already out grown it!"

Al was hit with a stroke of brilliance. He reached into his backpack-he, Ed, and Noah had all brought their own from Munich-and pulled out a chunk of wood. He tossed it to his brother. "Put that in your boot."

"Al, why were you carrying a block of wood this whole time?"

Al's face turning bright red. He scratched the back of his head and spoke in an innocent voice, "well, I kind of broke it off the bed at that last inn we staying at in Calais and thought I'd better hide the evidence . . ."

Ed slapped his palm against his forehead. "Ugh, let's just go call Gracia and get some food . . . Maybe Lisa will take us to the other Edward's family's house. I over heard Roy and Lisa talking about how his aunt still has all his stuff; including his research notes."

Al nodded. "Okay."

. . .

"After Ed had eaten his fill of Lisa's amazing waffles, he grudgingly walked over to the desk in the Stanley's sitting room. As it would turn out, there was no telephone for miles from the Stanley home, so Ed decided to write instead. He was hesitant because he knew Gracia would reply immediately; freaking out at them.

Ed took a deep breath and began to write.

_Dear Gracia and Officer Hughes,_

Ed felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up it was Noah.

"I'll write that for you, Ed," she told him. "You and Al go do what you need to do."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Go on!"

Ed smiled-a sweet rarity. "Thanks, Noah."

. . .

"Well, here we are," Lisa told them when the cab stopped outside the big old house. "I'll be back to pick you up in a few hours, okay?"

The two brothers nodded and thanked her one more time.

Ed and Al approached the front door and knocked on it once.

A tall woman who appeared to be in her mid thirties or forties answered the door. She had grey-streaked, orange hair, blue eyes, and lots of freckles. "Good morning, how may I help you?"

"We're here regarding Edward Matthews," Al told her. "My name is Alphonse Elric and this is my brother, Ed. Our father, Hohenheim, was working with him, we believe."

The woman nodded grimly and stepped back to let them into the house. "My name is Patricia Matthews. After my brother was put in jail and his wife died, I took care of Edward. A few months before his death, he started renting a small flat. He eventually befriended a man by the name of Hohenheim who did research with him. After Edward's funeral we never saw him again . . . Your dad, you say?"

Ed and Al followed Patricia into the sitting room of her home.

"Yes ma'am," Ed replied. "He died a few weeks ago, and we're just trying to tie up all the loose ends."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Patricia said sadly. "Your father was always very kind to us . . . You've come at a lovely time though; Wendy's still here."

"Wendy?" Al asked.

Patricia nodded. "Yes, she's a very sweet girl. She's studying to be a doctor, if you'd believe it. A _female_ doctor! Aren't many of those now are there . . . She and my nephew were to be married . . . But then he died . . ."

"Where is she?" Al asked, trying to hide the laughter from his voice. "We had no idea that Edward was _engaged_."

Ed slapped the back of his brother's head.

"Oh she's just making some tea," Patricia told them. "She and Edward were soul mates, though . . . I'm telling you . . ."

"Soul mates, huh?" Al asked smugly, grinning at his brother.

Ed would have hit his brother again if the familiar voice that came from the doorway hadn't startled him so much.

"Did I hear voices, Aunt Patricia?"

When she stepped into the room, Alphonse Elric could no longer contain his laughter.

"W-Winry?" Ed stuttered.

"Who's Winry?" the girl asked sweetly. "I'm Wendy . . . And you are?"

Ed snapped himself out of it. "Edward Elric. And the hysterical one behind me is my _baby_ brother, Al."

The two shook hands. Wendy cocked an eyebrow as she looked at his face . . . As if he looked familiar; she just couldn't place from where.

Al continued to laugh to the point where he was actually doubled over.

"What's so funny, Alphonse?" Patricia asked.

"Just an old joke I thought of," Al chocked out.

"Bastard . . ." Ed hissed. Then he turned to Patricia and spoke a little louder. "If we could just see the research notes . . ."

Patricia nodded. "Okay . . . They're in the study, I'll show you."

"Oh, no, Patricia," Wendy said, gesturing for the woman to sit. "I'll show them up there. You just relax for once, alright?"

Patricia smiled a little. "Honestly, Wendy, you treat me like a little old lady!"

Ed and Al followed Wendy into the hallway and up a flight of stairs. When they reached the top, she turned to face them.

"Okay, spill it," she commanded, the sweet voice gone.

"What?" Ed asked, a little surprised.

"You say your Hohenheim's kids, so you must know how to read his notes!" Wendy exclaimed. "I've looked through them a million times, but I can't make any sense out of them! I once asked Edward what it was they were studying and he said it was some new form of alchemy from a totally different universe! You're his sons . . . You have to tell me what it means!"

"I don't have to tell you any-"

"Brother," Al interrupted, his voice sad. "You know who this is-we never told her anything in Amestris, the least we can do is explain ourselves and be truthful _now."_

"B-" Ed stopped himself this time. "No, you're right, Al. Wendy, when we're in the study, Al and I will tell you everything, though I doubt you'll believe us . . ."

. . .

"I don't believe you!" Wendy cried when their story was done.

"Told you so," Ed grumbled to his little brother.

"Wendy, I know it sounds a little weird, but it's the truth!" Al told her.

Wendy looked down and muttered something to herself. "Het klinkt een beetje raar, toch weet ik wat ik zeg . . ."

"What?" Ed asked. He was starting to get a bit of a headache . . .

Wendy blushed a little. "Oh it's just something Edward used to say to me when I didn't believe him about something . . . His mother was Dutch."

"What does it mean?" Alphonse asked.

"Something like 'it sounds strange, but I know what I'm talking about,'" Wendy told him. After a pause of long thought she added, "and . . . Edward believed what you guys said, so I guess I do too . . ."

"Really?" Al asked, excited.

Wendy nodded. "Why not? Anything's possible, right?"

Ed and Al smiled at each other.

Suddenly, Ed heard a sharp ringing in his ears, and a stab of pain shot through his skull.

"Argh!" Ed gripped his head in his hands. He lost his balance and stumbled forward.

Al and Wendy rushed forward to catch him.

"Ed!"

"Brother!"

"_Who are you?"_ These words bounced around in Edward Elric's head. The voice that said them was familiar . . . But he couldn't place from where.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Al asked, panicking a little.

The pain in Edward's head dulled a little. He stood up on his own and looked at his little brother.

"Nothing," Ed lied. "I guess I'm still just a little sick. Maybe we should just come back tomorrow, Al."

His brother nodded. "Okay, but Lisa's not going to be here for a few hours."

"It's okay," Ed said. "I need some air, let's just walk."

"You can barely stand!" Wendy exclaimed. "As a doctor I couldn't possibly allow you to-"

"Argh!" Ed doubled over again.

"What's wrong with him?" Al exclaimed.

"Where do you live? I'll drive you!" Wendy told them.

"We're staying with Roy and Lisa Stanley," Al replied.

"NO!" Edward screamed.

"Ed, what the hell-"

"Wendy!" he cut Al off. The voice he spoke with wasn't his own. "Wendy, don't! Please . . ."

Wendy sucked in a breath, horrified. She knew that voice . . .

Ed grabbed his head again and ran out of the room.

"Edward!" Al yelled, and followed after him.

Wendy stayed in the study, though. She sat down in the desk chair, covered her face with her arms, and cried.

. . .

Alphonse finally caught sight of his brother.

After running as fast as he could for a good mile and a half, the recently-ill Elric had to stop to catch his breath.

"I'd say I'm a little our of shape, Al," the older brother said. "Maybe we should spar a little later."

"Brother!" Al said in a no-nonsense tone. "What the hell was that?"

Ed sighed. He turned around and started walking beside his younger brother. "Remember I told you everything about me being in the other Edward's body was a little fuzzy?"

Al nodded.

"Well, I just remembered something . . . When I passed through the gate, my mind and soul were separated from my own body and pulled into this Edward's. The scary thing is that while I was controlling his body, he was still there. He tried to regain control, and even spoke to me . . . He asked me who I was. And then I led his body right to the spot where that zeppelin crashed-"

"_Crashed?"_ Al asked. "I thought it dropped a bomb near him!"

Ed shook his head. "No, I remember now . . . If I hadn't been in control of his body at the time, he wouldn't have been there. He could have been far enough away to survive . . . But that's not important now. What I'm saying is that I think the same thing just happened again, but in reverse. The other Edward's mind and soul were starting to take over _my_ body."

"That's not possible!" Al exclaimed. "He's dead!"

Edward shrugged. "I'm not going to claim to know what happens to souls when their bodies die, Al. I also remembered something Dad told me, about why he couldn't return to our world . . . It was because his body was here too, and there would be nothing for his soul to return to back in Amestris."

Al looked down. "So there really is no way for us to get home, then."

"Damn!" Ed exclaimed. "I don't except that! Think about it, Al . . . Maybe I was wrong. What if it's not just soul mates that are the same on this side, what if it's any kind of strong relationship. Think about it; Mustang and Hughes were best friends in Amestris, and they are here, too. I ended up roommates with Alfons Heiderich, and if the other Edward hadn't died he might have too. You said you were in the other Alfons's body; what id that was because I was with him? If the other Edward and Wendy were in love, then wouldn't it make sense that his soul and mind were pulled into my body at that time? My head started to hurt when she spoke in Dutch . . . Maybe that's what triggered it, a specific memory could cause what happened to you to happen to me, right?"

Al stared at him blankly. "Could you . . . Repeat that? But slower?"

"Our souls and minds can be pulled into the doubles of ourselves when the double's body is in close contact with something of significance to _us._ And vise versa."

Al nodded. "Okay . . . So for example, if the other you was in Amestris, and he went to Winry and Aunt Pinako's house, you could enter his body?"

Ed nodded. "I think so . . . And that plus the fact that they opened a gate on this side, _and_ your soul transmutation worked back when you were still in Amestris proves that alchemy _is_ possible on this side. We just have to figure out how . . . And if you think about the inner gate thing that Dad mentioned; maybe we'll be able to figure out how to get our bodies through with us."

"This is like those puzzles we used to play with as kids; the ones we never finished. There were a bunch of wooden squares that filled up a bigger panel, and one square would be missing. The others would be painted, and the object of the puzzle was to slide the squares around so they formed a picture. But in order to do that, sometimes you had to move pieces out of their proper places."

Ed nodded. "I hated those stupid things . . . They were impossible."

"Mom showed us a trick, remember?" Al asked, smiling.

Ed grinned too. "Ha, yeah. She'd pick out all the little blocks and stick them back in the right order."

"What a cheater . . ."

The two brothers laughed a little more.

After a minute, Al cleared his throat. "So, Brother . . . You and Winry, huh?"

Ed pushed him. "You don't know that! The other Ed died before they were even married _and _on top of that she could still fall in love with someone else! And same goes for you because Alfons Heiderich died before he ever got married or fell in love but that doesn't mean you will too! For we know _you_ could end up with Winry!"

Ed kept ranting. Alphonse just laughed.

. . .

When they got back to Roy and Lisa's farm, the Elric brothers were ready to fall into long, sleepy, comas.

"You boys _walked _all the way here?" Lisa asked, shocked. "From Patricia Matthews house?"

They nodded.

"Well, it's a good thing you're back so early," Roy said, handing them each a shovel. "I need some help with the manure."

"What?" Ed asked, slightly enraged. He was pretty used to orders like this from Mustang, but _this_ Roy, too?"

"As long as your living with us, you're going to pull your own weight," Roy told them.

Ed sighed and took the shovel. "Alright, that seems fair. We'll spare later, Al, okay?"

. . .

After dinner-and a long day of shoveling manure-Noah, Lisa, and Roy sat on the grass outside the barn, watching the Elric brothers stretch out.

"I don't see how this is a very fair fight, boys," Roy said. "Ed you're 18 and have two metal limbs while Al is only 13 and is completely flesh and bone."

"Don't worry," Ed told them. "I've never beaten Al before. And besides that, Al's not 13, he's 17."

"Maybe technically!" Al exclaimed. "But physically I really am only 13!"

"Well, that doesn't change the fact that I've still never beaten you," Ed said.

"That's because I was a giant suit of armor before!" Al pointed out, his voice cracking a little.

Ed actually laughed. "Oh yeah, that reminds me, Al. How's puberty treating you?"

The comment had the effect Ed was hopping for.

"Okay, now I'm gonna kick your ass!" Al told his brother.

Ed grinned. The two ran at each other. Al attempted to kick Ed's legs out from under him, but Ed jumped over brother and swung his leg around at Al's chest. Al jumped backwards, bounced off his hands and landed on his feet a few feet away.

Roy, Lisa, and Noah stared at them open-mouthed.

"Where the hell did they learn to fight like that?" Roy asked.

"Noah remembered a face she had seen in Edward's dreams.

"I think they had a teacher . . ."

"I think I'll be staying on their good sides," Lisa murmured. The other two nodded in agreement.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer - I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of it's characters. **

**A/N - So this chapter kind of fast forwards a few years, so I don't have to write 300 chapters about boring research.**

. . .

**London, England**

**1926**

**Older Brother - 21, Younger Brother - 20  
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As the years passed, the Elric brothers continued to research at Patricia Matthews' house nearly every day. They ended up forming a close bond with the woman, and her would-be niece-in-law, Wendy. There were still key components missing from their formulas, but they were close. Closer than anyone had ever been before.

"Mommy! I wanna play outside!"

"Amanda Margret Stanley!" Lisa scolded the two-year-old. "If I have to tell you to sit back on the couch _one more time . . ."_

The black-haired, blue-eyed toddler pouted but did as her mother said.

"Roy, where's the baby?" Lisa asked her husband. Their house was so crowded it was hard to find anyone.

"Alphonse took him up stairs as motivation to wake Edward," Roy replied.

"Figures . . ." Lisa muttered. "Only that boy could be late for a party in his own home!"

. . .

Al stood outside his bedroom door. He was holding the Stanley's newest addition; a baby named Lewis. Like his older sister, Lewis had inherited his father's blue eyes, but his hair was blonde, like his mother.

Al knocked once on the door.

"Come in!" Edward called from the other side.

Alphonse raised his eyebrows, sincerely surprised he received an answer. He entered the room. "You're _awake?"_

"Cut me some slack, Al," the older brother said. "I'm twenty-one now. I can handle little things like waking up on my own."

Al gave him a look that read; _seriously?_

"Fine! The noise downstairs woke me!" Ed admitted.

Al chuckled and sat down on his bed. "Happy birthday, Brother."

"What's with the rug-rat?" Ed asked as he pulled his pajama shirt over his head.

"I thought if I dropped Lewis on you in your sleep it would wake you up," Al said. "And you can't hit a baby, so . . ."

Ed rolled his eyes as he started to button a clean shirt up his torso. "Just tell Lisa I'll be down a little while."

Al nodded. "Oh! And I forgot to tell you; Gracia and Hughes came all the way from Munich to see you today!"

Ed smiled. "Great, now I get to hear a lecture about how I need to hurry up and find a wife from Officer Spaz and be scolded for not writing more often from Mrs. Officer Spaz."

. . .

Ed finished getting dressed and walked downstairs. He met Al at the bottom.

Al gasped when he saw him. "Brother, you braided your hair! You haven't done that since Amestris."

Ed looked at him sideways for a second, then reached his left arm back and felt his head. He laughed. "Ha, I guess I did . . . Old habits die hard, I guess. I didn't even mean to . . ."

He reached back to undo the braid, but Al grabbed his arm. "Nah, leave it, Brother. It's kind of nostalgic."

Ed nodded. "Yeah, why not? It's been five years since I've been home for more than half and hour . . ."

Al face scrunched up. "Do you realize how much paper work you're going to have to do in Central once we get back?"

Before Ed had time to reply, someone across the room yelled, "There's my birthday boy!"

Ed turned bright red and tried to hide. But it was too late, Gracia and Hughes had already seen them.

The couple made their way over to the boys. When they got close enough, Ed and Al saw Gracia's stomach. It was swollen like a balloon.

"_Oh God not again!"_ the brothers chorused to each other, beginning to panic.

"Happy birthday, Ed!" Hughes exclaimed.

"Thanks," Ed said. "And congrats on the baby."

Hughes smiled wide and Edward immediately regretted saying anything.

"OH I JUST KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE WORLD'S CUTEST BABY!" Hughes began to ramble.

Different universe; same Hughes.

Ed and Al "accidentally" got lost in the crowd of people that had gathered and hid in the living room.

"Eddie!" Amanda cried from the couch when she saw them.

Al held a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet. He and Ed walked over and sat on either side of her.

"Hey, Mandy," Ed said.

"Mommy and Daddy say it's your birthday," she told him.

Ed nodded. "Yup! I'm twenty-one today. Cool, huh?"

Amanda smiled. "You're a big kid."

Ed laughed. "Yeah, I guess so."

Amanda turned to Alphonse. "How old are you, Al?"

"Well," Al said. "Technically I should be 19 right now, but because I spent a few years in a suit of armor my body stopped aging for a little while and physically I'm only around 15. So I'm not exactly sure how to answer that because in reality I don't have an exact age anymore."

Amanda blinked once, still waiting for an answer she could comprehend.

Al sighed. "Let's just say I'm 17, okay?"

Amanda nodded. "'Kay!"

The toddler turned back to Edward. "Eddie, what's a 'flood'?"

"When there's a lot of water in one place," Ed told her, by now used to her random questions. "Why do you ask?"

"Ms. Patricia was telling Daddy that he's lucky for living on a hill 'cause places in London were flooding but we're up high so we're safe."

"I heard about that," Al said. "Wendy's place is filled with water."

"Did I hear my name?" Wendy asked. They hadn't noticed her standing in the room. She sat down next to the younger Elric.

"We were talking about the floods in London," Edward explained.

"Oh, yeah . . . I've been staying with Patricia," Wendy told him.

"Why don't you stay here, Wendy?" Amanda asked. "Then we could play!"

"Because Patricia lives closer to my work," Wendy explained. "But I promise I'll visit more often, okay?"

Amanda nodded.

"Edward!" Lisa called from across the room. "We're going to serve cake, come on!"

"A little early for cake, isn't it?" Ed asked with a yawn.

Al and Wendy laughed.

"Brother, it's one in the afternoon."

"You sure slept in, huh, Ed?" Wendy asked.

Ed shrugged, pulled Mandy up onto his shoulders and stood up.

When they got into the dining room, pretty much everyone had already sat down at the table.

Lots of people had come to celebrate the elder Elric's birthday. Patricia, Wendy, Gracia and Hughes, Old Lady Williamson (who happened to look a lot like Pinako Rockbell), Fletcher Bentley and Russell Phillips (who happened to resemble two brothers the Elrics had once met, years ago), Roy, Lisa, Amanda, and Lewis (obviously), and some of their friends from town; the Andrews family and their daughter, Nina. And of course, Ed, Al, and Noah were there as well.

"When are you guys gonna get these kids out of the house?" Hughes exclaimed to Roy and Lisa when he saw Ed. "Come on, _five_ in one house?"

Everyone laughed.

Lisa wrapped her arm about Ed's waist-something he instinctively flinched at. "Please, we'd never dream of kicking Edward out. He's just like family."

"And too good of a farm hand," Roy agreed jokingly.

Ed smirked and let Amanda slip down off his shoulders. He sat at the head of the table so he could see all of his friends.

"I'll never forget the first day I met Ed," Gracia said. "He had just moved in above my store. One day he ran through the door and asked me what the currency used in Germany was!"

Ed blushed, embarrassed as everyone laughed.

"I met him when I had to pull him off another guy outside a beer hall. Neither of them had been drinking, the guys just called Ed 'short' and Ed started beating the crap out of him!" Hughes exclaimed.

Even Ed had to laugh at that story.

"I had never met him once until the day he made a boy run home crying for making fun of Nina's dress," Mr. Andrews said. "I had never even seen him before that."

Everyone else went around, sharing the stories of how they had met Edward Elric. Every new one was just as insane as the last.

Ed looked down at the table.

"What's wrong?" Al asked.

"When we go home, we'll never see any of them ever again," Ed replied, his voice lowered so only Al could hear. "Amanda and Lewis won't even remember us, and the others will eventually forget as well."

Al looked down, too. "Maybe . . . Maybe we should just stay here, Brother. We could live here for the rest of our lives . . . Just give up on trying to find a way home. I mean . . . I don't want to say goodbye."

Ed shook his head. "We don't belong here, Al. We should have never come to this world. It's not natural, we weren't born here. There was another Edward and another Alphonse and _they_ are the ones that this world is compatible with. Not us."

Al sighed and looked at Nina. She was laughing at the stories, along with everyone else. "She was given a better life, a better family in this world."

Ed nodded. "Look at her . . . _thirteen_, Al. That's how old the Nina we knew back home would be, too. We really are getting old, huh? To think we knew her when she was four."

Al nodded. "She's gonna grow up, get married . . . It'd be cool to stick around for that, don't you think?"

"But what about home, Al? We can't live in two worlds, and there's one that we belong in; where people are waiting for us."

"Well, I think there is one thing that we can all agree on," Hughes spoke up. "No matter how odd the circumstances, all of our lives changed for the better when those Elric brothers walked into our lives."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"They take care of us," Mrs. Andrews said. "I can't think of a single time when I needed help and they weren't there."

"They're my big brothers!" Amanda screeched happily. "They'll always be here for me!"

"And those stories you guys tell are the _best!"_ Nina added. "I could listen to them forever . . ."

Lisa placed a big cake with twenty-one candles down on the table in front of Ed.

"Wait!" Nina cried. She grabbed another candle from the box in the middle of the table and stuck it in the middle of the frosting. "One to age on!"

. . .

After everyone had eaten their fill of cake, Amanda started asking to play outside again. It had recently snowed, and the toddler was _very_ excited.

Nina offered to go out with her, and Lisa finally caved.

"You guys should come, too!" Nina told Ed, Al, Wendy, and Noah as she pulled on her gloves. "Fletcher and Russell as well."

"Alright," Ed agreed. "I'll just go find my coat, okay?"

When Ed went outside a few minutes later, all the others were already there; building snow men, throwing snow balls, and-

"Angels, Ed!" Nina cried happily. She and Al were lying on the ground, moving their arms up and down. "We made snow angels!"

Ed chuckled. "Well, this is definitely déjà vu, eh, Al?"

His younger brother laughed. "Just like the day you turned 12, and Elysia was born!"

"Oh yeah, Nina said. "Like in your stories!"

"Eddie, I like the snow!" Amanda exclaimed.

Ed walked over to her. "Watcha doin', Mandy?"

"I wanna make a snow man like Russell and Fletcher did but it won't stick." She grabbed a clump of snow with her chubby toddler hands and smashed it together. It broke apart and fell back to the ground.

"Here, let me help," Ed offered.

. . .

A few hours later, Lisa called them back into the house. When the eight of them-Ed, Al, Noah, Nina, Fletcher, Russell, Wendy, and Amanda-had changed out of their wet clothes, Gracia helped shuffle them into the sitting room. All the other guests were there as well, along with a new person, who was standing behind a camera.

"Pictures?" Al asked. "Why are we taking pictures?"

Lisa lowered her voice so only they could hear her. "When you boys get back to your own world, we want you to remember us; your family-in this world anyway. And we want to be able to show Amanda and Lewis their older brothers if they ever forget you. You boys are part of our family now, even if you do go back to your own dimension."

Ed smiled. "Thank you, Lisa."

She shrugged. "We figured it was the only gift we could give you that you could still use in your own world. Now come on, big smiles."

Ed looked at his friends, all smushed together in front of a camera and smiled to himself. Lisa was doing this because she actually believed their stories, and new that they would find a way home. She had faith in them, and that felt so nice.

. . .

**Central, Amestris**

**1920**

**(Earth Year: 1926)**

**Granddaughter - 20  
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"Happy birthday, Elysia!" everyone shouted.

The nine-year-old beamed as she blew out her candles. Winry couldn't help from being reminded of the day she first met the Hughes family, when Elysia turned four.

"It was so nice of you to come all the way from Resembool just to see Elysia," Gracia Hughes said.

"Not just Elysia," Winry reassured her. "You and Sheska, too."

They were silent for a moment.

"So they still haven't found anything on Al" Gracia asked, sadly.

Winry shook her head. Gracia didn't know what really happened that day. She thought Al was just missing. Winry didn't know the whole story either. She didn't know where the Elrics were or even if they were still alive. All she knew was that they were never coming back. Yet for three years she had written them letters, at least once on month, telling them everything that had happened recently. She promised herself that all though they'd never get to read them, that somehow by her writing them, they would know that everyone was alright.

"Excuse me a second," Winry said. She walked away from the party, down the hall and into the Hughes's bathroom.

She locked the door and walked over to the mirror. She pulled a box of matches and a birthday candle out of her back pocket. She lit it.

"Happy 21st, Ed," she whispered, her eyes shut tight. You and Al have been gone a while . . . Al would be 19 now if his body hadn't gotten all screwed up. I guess he'd look around 15 if he had stayed here . . . _Twenty-one,_ Ed. We sure are getting old, the three of us, huh? I'll be twenty-one two in a few months, yet I can still remember when we were toddlers . . ."

She took a deep breath and used her free hand to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Since you're not here, I'll make a wish for you, alright? I wish that you and Al would just get your asses home."

She blew out the candle, shoved the matches in her pocket, and left the bathroom to rejoin the party.

. . .

**London, England**

**1926**

"Hey, Ed," Roy called. He pulled his fingers in and out of his palm; signaling him to walk over.

Roy, Hughes, Mr. Andrews, and Old Lady Williamson all sat around a small table. They each had a glass of wine in their hands.

"What's up?" Ed asked.

Roy held out a glass to him. "On every birthday you have spent in my house, I have offered you wine, and every year you say no. Today you are 21, and I am thoroughly convinced you've never even _tasted_ wine at all."

Ed crinkled his nose. "When I was 16, my Dad let me try a sip of his at a restaurant we had stopped at on our way to Germany. It tasted like crap."

"Come on, Ed!" Hughes begged. "Not all wine tastes the same! You'd never drink back in Munich, either. It's your birthday, live a little!"

Ed shook his head. "I'm just not a fan of alcoholic beverages."

Old Lady Williamson laughed. "You're such a little girl, Elric!"

"How about I make a deal with you?" Roy suggested. "If I can get _Al_ to have some wine, then you have to try it too."

"Fine!" Ed agreed, completely convinced his brother would refuse the offer.

"Hey, Al!" Hughes called. "Get over here!"

The younger Elric abandoned the rest of the part guests in their game of musical chairs-at Amanda's suggestion-and walked over to them.

"Here," Roy said, handing him a glass. He poured some wine into it. "Drink that."

Al looked at it funny. "Why?"

"Because, it's a party!" Old Lady Williamson said. "Go on, you're old enough!"

Al looked at Mr. Andrews-the normally more practical one of their group. He nodded.

Al took a deep breath and sipped the strange liquid. After a pause he said, "Hmm . . . Not half bad."

The four drinking buddies laughed.

"Now let your brother," Mr. Andrews told Al.

He handed the glass to his older brother. "Here, Ed."

Edward made sure to give Roy his best glare before putting the glass to his lips.

"Well?" Roy asked.

Ed shrugged. "Better than what I had before, I guess."

Hughes threw his hands in the air. "The boy won't drink milk, now he won't drink wine! What the hell are we gonna give you, Ed?"

"Water's fine," Ed told him.

Wendy, hearing the spectacle, walked over to the table. "Who doesn't like milk or wine?"

Ed proudly raised his hand.

She clicked her tongue and snatched the glass out of his hands. She downed the rest of it in one gulp.

"What the hell, Wendy?" Ed exclaimed. "You've got to drive yourself home!"

"Please, one glass of wine is not going to make me drunk."

"I hope Winry didn't end up like this," Al whispered to his brother as Wendy poured herself more. He sounded scared.

. . .

**Resembool, Amestris**

**1920**

**(Earth Year: 1926)**

_Ring!_

Pinako Rockbell took one last drag from her pipe before turning around to reenter her house in order to answer the phone. Normally that would be Winry's job, but Winry was visiting some friends in Central at the moment.

"Hello, Rockbell Automail," she answered.

"Hello Ms. Rockbell," the unfamiliar voice replied from the other end of the call. "My name is Riza Hawkeye, I was wondering if Winry was around."

"Well, Lieutenant, I would have assumed you knew," Pinako said, recognizing the woman's name. "But Winry is in Central at the moment, staying with the Hughes Family."

"Really?" Hawkeye asked. "I would have thought the Colonel would have mentioned . . . Never mind that. Well . . . How has she been. I mean with the Elric brother thing, of course."

Pinako's eyebrows raised up her forehead. It was odd to receive a call from the military, never mind a _personal_ call. Winry had nothing to do with Lieutenant Hawkeye, so why was she checking up? "May I ask the purpose of this question?"

"Oh, yes! Of course," Hawkeye replied. She sounded a little flustered. "Well, it's just that today would have been Edward Elric's twenty-first birthday, and I couldn't help but thinking that Winry would probably be in an especially sensitive state, given the circumstances. I just thought of it because I saw Edward's name pop up in some files-the anniversary of the day he passed his alchemy exam is coming up-and I just wasn't doing anything so I-uh . . . Well . . ."

Pinako got the message. First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye was just as bothered with the Elric's disappearance as Winry. The old woman couldn't help but wonder how much the Colonel actually told her, and how much she herself actually knew. "I see . . . As for Winry, who knows? She comes down from her room more often, but just this morning she told me about a dream she had. It was Ed's birthday, and the three of them were playing out in the snow like when they were kids. There were other people there, too, that she didn't know, and Ed was helping a little girl with black hair build a snow man and Al was making snow angels with another girl who looked around 13 or 14 with long brown braids."

"Well," Hawkeye said. "That's a little . . . Peculiar."

"You think?"

. . .

**London, England**

**1926**

"You okay, Wendy?" Hughes asked a few hour later.

Wendy nodded, holding her hand to her forehead. It was nearing ten o'clock. All the other guests had already gone home, and Amanda and Lewis were tucked into their beds. Hughes and Gracia were spending the night with the Stanleys before going back to Munich, and Patricia had taken a cab home about an hour before. "Just a little headache."

"Probably from all that wine!" Ed exclaimed.

Wendy shook her head. "No, I've been getting them a lot recently. Stress from the flood, I guess. If you don't mind, Ed, I think I'm gonna get going."

"Yeah, go ahead, get some sleep for once," Ed suggested.

Wendy laughed and hugged her friend. "Happy birthday, Fullmetal Boy."

Ed rolled his eyes. After three years, he had adjusted to Wendy's nickname for him, but that didn't make it any less annoying. She called him that because he had only been 12 when he became a state alchemist, but now, he was no longer a _boy._

"Careful on the roads," Gracia warned her. "It's very icy."

"I will," Wendy promised.

_Soon we'll be together, Wendy. Soon . . . I promise._

Ed froze. He hadn't heard that voice in nearly three years. Not since the day he first met Wendy.

No one else seemed to have heard it, which just confirmed Ed's suspicions.

Edward Matthews.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer - I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist**

**A/N - Firstly, I feel the need to share the fact that I am typing this in an outrageous font (Century Gothic) for my own pleasure and I completely understand that when I post it, it will show up in standard font anyway. I don't care, let me have my fun XD**

**And now on to something much more relevant . . .**

**So, in this chapter I decided to address the whole "language barrier" thing. I wasn't going to, because in the show everyone just speaks the same language, but obviously in real life not everyone is just going to be in English ALL THE TIME. So I just figured I'd type it so that people were speaking in their native language, but you're reading it in English (if that makes sense). So like for example, Ed and Al are speaking to each other in Amestrian at on point, and Amanda asks them why. I'll type it in English but the idea is that Amanda has no idea what they're saying, only we do (muhaha).**

**Okay you're all probably confused now. Great . . . *face palm* whatever I assume you'll catch on.**

. . .

**Central, Amestris**

**1920**

**(Earth Year: 1926)**

"Colonel, sir," Hawkeye said. It was the morning after she had made the call to Resembool.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" Mustang asked, not bothering to look up from the newspaper he was reading.

"Sir, you _did_ attend the ninth birthday party of Elysia Hughes, correct?"

"Yes, Lieutenant," Mustang replied. He turned the page.

"While you were there, Sir, you wouldn't have happened to have spoken with Winry Rockbell, would you?"

Mustang looked up at her. He thought a moment, then said, "Uh . . . No, I didn't even know the Rockbell girl was there."

Hawkeye nodded. "Thank you, Sir."

Mustang looked confused. "What for?"

"For answering my questions, Sir."

Mustang sighed. He hated how strictly business Hawkeye kept their relationship. He looked back down at his paper. "What's with the sudden interest in the Rockbell girl, anyway?"

"Well, yesterday _was_ the Fullmetal Alchemist's 21st birthday. Or rather, it would have been-"

Mustang spit out the coffee he had just taken a sip of. "TWENTY-ONE?"

"Well, yeah," Havoc said. "I totally forgot. That little pipsqueak would have been all grown up . . ."

"That's not possible!" Mustang exclaimed. "That would mean that I met Elric _ten years _ago! It has not been _that_ long!"

Havoc leaned over his desk and whispered in Breda's ear, "_Someone's _in denial about his age."

"I AM NOT IN DENIAL!"

"Hey, you guys know what Hughes would have said now?" Furey asked.

"Better hurry up and get yourself a wife!" Falman, Havoc, Breda, and Furey chanted together.

"Shut up and get back to work!" the colonel commanded.

"Colonel, Sir, if I may make a suggestion," Hawkeye said.

"Shoot."

"Maybe if you'd finish your paper work instead of reading the newspaper for once you'd have been promoted by now!" And with that, she snatched the paper out of his hands and pushed a big stack of file work in front of him.

"Oh yeah," Breda chimed in. "I heard General Peterson had a nervous break down and retired . . . Maybe you'll get bumped back up to General, Mustang."

The familiar glint of determination resurfaced in Mustang's eye for the first time in a while. He _would_ finish his climb to the top.

. . .

**London, England**

**1926**

Sun poured into the Elric's bedroom through the small window.

Alphonse tried to turn his face away from the window and go back to sleep, but it was too late. He was a wake. He sighed and sat up.

Well, might as well make Ed get up, too . . . Al got out of bed, grabbed his pillow, and smashed it into his older brother's face. "Brother, wake up!"

"Ugh, fuck you, Al . . ." Ed mumbled, burrowing deeper into his covers.

Only being woken up would cause Edward Elric to use such fowl language so casually. Normally, you'd have to seriously piss him off first.

"Come on!" Al hit him with his pillow again. "The sooner we feed the animals, the sooner we can eat."

At the mention of food, Ed sat straight up in his bed. "I'm awake!"

. . .

"It's too cold, and too early for this," Ed complained as he threw some hay into the horse stables.

He and Al moved along to the barn, where they had to feed and milk the cows.

"Eddie! Al!" a familiar little voice shrieked from outside the barn.

"Amanda?" Al asked, confused. The toddler normally slept until breakfast was done, and she never came outside this early.

"Ed, Al!" another voice called.

"Noah?" Ed asked. "Shouldn't she be getting the eggs?"

The two of them abandoned their task prematurely to see what was going on.

"What's up?" Al asked as they emerged from the barn house.

Amanda ran over to them as fast as her little legs would carry her. When she was close enough, Al swooped her up in his arms in order to keep her out of the now-melting snow.

"Lisa said it's something important!" Noah told them. "She called for a cab; she wants us all at the house now."

"_Now?"_ Ed asked. They still hadn't finished their morning chores.

"_Now," _Noah confirmed.

The three of them ran back to the house, Al holding Amanda tight against him so she wouldn't fall.

. . .

"Lisa, what is going on?" Roy asked when he arrived in the kitchen a few minutes after the others.

Lewis was keeping himself busy by grabbing clumps of Al's hair in his hand and yanking on it as hard as he could. Ed was now holding Mandy, and she was complaining to him that she was still tired and wanted to take a nap.

"Lisa!" Roy repeated.

His wife was busy running around the kitchen, trying to pull together breakfast as fast as she could. "There's been and accident . . . I don't know much else."

"An accident?" Roy asked.

Lisa nodded and handed them each a piece of toast with jam thinly spread on them. Amanda made a face at hers. "This looks yucky!"

Lisa handed Roy Amanda's coat and started to help Al with Lewis's. "A car accident. That's all I know, but we're going down to the hospital right now to figure it out.

"Who was in an accident?" Ed asked.

Lisa sighed and looked down. She hadn't wanted to tell anyone, the news was so terrible. But under the circumstances, she was possibly the only way they'd find out without seeing for themselves. "I . . . I got a phone call . . . Patricia used a public phone to call our new number and honestly I'm surprised she could remember it I mean her mind's always been a little frazzled and-"

"Lisa!" Roy, Ed, Al, and Noah exclaimed.

She swallowed. "It was Wendy."

_. . ._

Past experiences had caused both the Elric brothers to develop a hesitancy of entering hospitals, but knowing _who_ it was behind those big glass doors, they didn't even pause before running right into the main lobby.

Ed ran right up to the front desk and banged his fist on the counter. The nurse who was sitting behind it jumped.

"Where's Wendy Franklin's room?" Ed demanded.

The woman jumped again and began shuffling through her papers. "Uh! Uhm . . . R-room 113. Up the stairs, down the hall, second door on the left!"

Ed ran off without thanking her. Roy, Lisa, and Noah followed, carrying the kids.

Al gave the lady a sympathetic look before rushing after the others.

Edward was the first to reach the door, and he ran right in without knocking.

What he saw in the room made his stomach flip over a few times. He instantly felt like throwing up.

Wendy was lying, unconscious, on a hospital bed. She had blood-stained bandages wrapped around her forehead, left arm, left leg, and her stomach. Her eyes were swollen and purple, and she had bruises all over her body.

Lisa, Roy and Al ran in right after Ed. Amanda tried to go with them, but Noah grabbed hold of her chubby little arm and held her in place.

"Let go!" Amanda screeched. "I wanna see Wendy too!"

"No, Mandy!" Noah exclaimed. She had Lewis in her other arm, and her grip on the toddler was slipping.

"Wendy!" Amanda cried. "I wanna see her!"

"Mandy, a hospital room is no place for you!" Noah told her, desperately attempting to hold her back.

"Why not?" Amanda asked, tears in her eyes. She pulled against Noah's grip; harder, harder, harder, free!

She tried to run right into the room, but she ran into something else first.

Edward's leg.

He scooped her up in his arms. Noah relaxed and stood up straight. She mumbled something in German that Ed couldn't translate-he had never really mastered the language. Learning English had been hard enough; all those extra riles of grammar. Besides; Gracia, Hughes, and Alfons spoke English fluently, so there had been no reason to be perfect in German.

"No, Mandy," he said. His voice sounded almost . . . Defeated.

"What's wrong with Wendy? Why can't I go in?"

"Wendy's just got some boo-boos," Noah said in a gentle voice. "And it's really crowded in the room."

Ed and Noah carried the kids over to the waiting room and sat down in the chairs. There were some blocks on the floor, and Amanda hopped off Ed's lap to play with them.

After a few moments of silence, Noah turned to Ed. "Do you think you'll be alright on your own? I want to go see her . . ."

"I'll stay, Noah," Al said. Ed and Noah both looked up, not having realized that Al was there.

Noah nodded, handed Lewis to Ed, stood up, and left. Al sat in her chair. "Brother, why did you run out of the room?"

Ed looked down at the giggling baby, not wanting to answer.

"_Edward,"_ Al said sternly. "You weren't even in there for two seconds before you turned around and ran out!"

"I couldn't help it," Ed blurted. "When I looked in that room, I wasn't worried about Wendy . . . I was worried about _her."_

Al was a little surprised. "Well . . . I guess that makes sense. They _are_ identical . . . And we're known Winry forever. Compared to her Wendy's brand new, so . . ."

Ed shook his head. "Not like that, Al. I knew it was Wendy lying there. But instead of worrying about that, I was automatically trying to figure out if something similar could have happened on the other side. And thinking about it like that; Winry could be dead right now and we wouldn't know it. This world's Edward died, yet I survived. And Alfons Heiderich died and you're perfectly fine! What if _both_ of them were in a fatal accident and only Wendy got to survive? What if it's _always_ like that?

"_That _was my first thought when I saw on of my closest friends half dead in a hospital room. It's terrible but I can't help it. They could all be dead. Aunt Pinako, Winry, Mustang, Hawkeye, Gracia, Elysia, Ross, Brosh, Rose, Armstrong . . . Our world could have _ended_ and we wouldn't know!"

Ed could have gone on ranting, but his head suddenly began to ache, just like when the other Edward had entered his body, only this time, he was alone in his head.

Ed shoved Lewis into Al's arms and made a mad dash for the men's room.

"Brother!" Al yelled after him, ready to follow. Then he remembered the kids and sat back down.

"Al?" Amanda asked.

"What is it, Mandy?"

"How come when you and Eddie talk to each other sometimes you sound different?" Amanda asked.

"Because we're not speaking English," Al explained. Ed had taught him the basics of the language back before they left Munich and on their journey to London. Al had picked up the rest with help from the others and a little more on his own.

"Why not?" Amanda asked. "You live here with us."

"Because Ed and I aren't from England, like you are. We just live here. Like when Noah, Gracia, or Hughes speak in German."

"Well where are you from?" Amanda asked.

Al took a moment to think of how he wanted to answer that question.

"Far away," he decided. "_Very_ far away."

"Do your mommy and daddy live there?" Amanda asked.

Al shook his head sadly. "My mommy died a long time ago, and my daddy didn't live with us."

"_No_ mommy or daddy?" Amanda asked, completely shocked.

Al shook his head again. "No mommy or daddy."

Amanda ran over, climbed up on the chair next to him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You can share my mommy and daddy! Ed can, too!"

Al laughed. "Thanks, Amanda."

. . .

Ed ran into the bathroom and stopped in front of the sinks.

His vision was becoming blurry. He turned on the cold water and splashed it in his face.

Instead of seeing the chrome faucets, he was looking at images swimming through his head. People laughing; Winry, Pinako, Mustang and his team, Maria Ross and Denny Brosh, Izumi, Sig, and Mason, Sheska, Fletcher and Russell Tringham, Rose, the two Ishballan boys; Rick and Leo, Gracia, Elysia, Armstrong, Lieutenant Hughes, Nina Tucker, his mother, a suit of armor . . .

And the last image he saw; a giant gate. Then everything went black.

. . .

**Munich, Germany**

Envy sighed. Three years later and the Thule Society _still_ hadn't freed him. He wondered if they were even still in need of him.

At this point, he decided that he really didn't give two shits about the Elrics; he just wanted to get down from the bloody ceiling.

So he did what he had to do; he called upon the gate in which he was made.

He was going back to Amestris.

. . .

**London, England**

Hughes moved in his sleep, resulting in his very pregnant wife to wake up.

Gracia was hungry, so she abandoned her attempts to go back to sleep and got up to find some food. Besides, she had to use the bathroom.

When she entered the kitchen, she noticed two things. 1) it was empty. No busy Lisa running around doing things, no toddlers coloring at the table, no Elrics scribbling in journals - empty. 2) There was a note on the counter.

_Gracia and Hughes_

_A friend of ours (Wendy, you met her yesterday at Ed's party) was been hospitalized. There's food if you need it. We'll be home later._

_Lisa and Roy_

"MAES WAKE UP WE'RE GOING TO THE HOSPITAL!" Gracia yelled.

There was a loud bang, followed by Hughes's weak voice. "Baby?"

"No, now hurry!"

. . .

**?**

Edward stood before the giant gate once again-the truth. It was opened this time.

"Damn!" he muttered to himself. "I can't even remember how many times I've seen this _fucking_ thing. But why am I here now?"

"Well isn't it obvious, Pipsqueak?" a familiar voice asked.

Edward gasped and did a one-eighty. Standing before him-back in humanoid form-was the last person Edward had ever wanted to see again.

"Envy!" he exclaimed. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

"Same reason as you, I assume," Envy replied. "I'm going home."

"_Home?" _Ed asked. "So I'm . . . _dead?_ Ah, shit! Al's gonna kill me . . ."

Envy laughed out loud. "You're not dead! _Yet,_ anyway . . ."

"Well, then how did I get here? My mind, body, and soul were all joined together on the other side . . . I shouldn't have been able to create my own gate!"

Envy sighed. "Damn, for an alchemic genius, you sure don't know much. I guess I'll be king enough to explain; you see Pipsqueak-"

"I'M TALLER THAN YOU NOW!"

"-there _is_ another way to open the gate inside yourself. Either Hohenheim didn't know or he just didn't tell you; I'm honestly not sure."

"Just get to the point," Ed said impatiently.

"Fine," Envy agreed. "Every human has the ability to do alchemy, right?"

Ed nodded.

"So therefore, every human has an inner gate, which acts as the source of their alchemy. When you form a close relationship with a person, your inner gates start to pull on each other. Now, when enough inner gates are connected, it forms a gate large enough to open up a _black hole_ of sorts, and it sucks in whoever's at the center of it and brings them here."

Ed scratched his head. "Well, I don't really understand that but I suppose it makes sense. How do you connect inner gates?"

Envy shrugged. "I'm not human, how the hell should I know?"

"Well then how did you get here?"

"I'm a _homunculus, _Edward. I was born from the gate, therefore I can summon it whenever I please. Why the hell did you think the Thule Society needed me? I acted as a conductor for them."

"Just one more question," Ed said. "Why are you telling me all this? I thought we were enemies."

There was an evil glint in his purple eyes. "Oh, don't get confused, Pipsqueak, I still hate you. I'm telling you because the sooner you get back to Amestris, the sooner I get to kill you!"

"I'm not going back," Ed told him. Envy's grin melted. "Not yet, anyway. Not without my brother."

"But you finding a way back here might take forever!" Envy shouted. "Just come back now while you have the chance! It's the _sane_ thing to do!"

Edward shook his head as hundreds of small, black hands reached out and grabbed hold of Envy.

"I'll recreate them!" Envy vowed. "The seven shall wreck havoc again! We will tear you Elric brothers down and dance on your graves!"

And with that, the gate closed, and darkness enveloped Ed again.

. . .

When Ed could see again, he was back in the men's room, thinking about what Envy had said.

"All I did was think about home . . ." he muttered to himself. That's when it hit him, the solution to the problem.

He had figured in the past that relationships always stayed the same, no matter what side of the gate you were on. That whole blood is thicker than water thing was just a load of crap. Well, what if all of that had to do with the inner gate?

What if, the inner gate was somewhat like a soul, and it knew love and friendship. When Alphonse was just a soul in a suit of armor, he had still been able to do alchemy, so didn't that prove the inner gate and the soul were tied?

Envy had said when you form a relationship with someone, your inner gate and their's begin to pull on each other. Thinking about it like that, you could have thousands of inner gates pulling on your own. What if, in order to connect them, you had to succumb to the pull and let it take you over?

But that didn't seem right either . . . There was still a key detail that Ed could feel he was missing.

Ed heard the bathroom door open. He quickly flew into one of the stalls, although he wasn't sure why.

"Brother?" Al's voice called. "Wendy's awake . . . She wants to speak with you."

Ed sighed and opened the stall so he could see his younger brother. He decided not to tell him what had happened just yet. "Okay. Let's go . . ."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer - I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist **

**A/N - Okay, so I just want to make sure you guys don't hate me for that last chapter . . . Because you might after this one XD**

**PS - I really like feedback because it boosts my confidence so if you guys wanna make my day and review I'll love you forever!**

. . .

**Central, Amestris**

**1920**

**(Earth Year: 1926)**

"So the Colonel's promotion is official?" Breda asked. He and the rest of Mustang's team were on their lunch break. The Flame Alchemist, however, made up some excuse about paper work in order to miss lunch that day, but his subordinates assumed that that was not the case.

Lt. Havoc nodded. "Yeah, as of tomorrow it's Brigadier General Mustang again . . ."

"You really think he'll land Fuhrer?" Breda asked.

"Oh, of course!" Furey exclaimed. "He has to, he's the only one who'll ever be able to fix this country!"

"He's the only one who cares about the people more than the power," Hawkeye corrected. "All though it's basically the same thing. He's good at hiding it, but he really only makes decisions based on how others will benefit. Not himself. He's someone to admire and look up to."

"I just hope he makes it soon," Furey said. "I've heard that the current Fuhrer is thinking about declaring war with one of the neighboring countries . . . The last thing we need is another Ishbal.

"Yeah, but this time I doubt the Fuhrer's an evil homunculus that wants to exterminate a race of people in order to create a Philosopher's Stone," Havoc pointed out.

Falman gasped and held out the newsletter that had been handed out to all of them earlier that day. No one ever bothered to read those stupid things, anyway. "I think we've got bigger problems at the moment!"

"'Be on the lookout for a mysterious man with long, dark, green hair, purple eyes, and a small, red tattoo on his led (unidentified),'" Havoc read aloud. "It also says he appeared in East City the other day and killed a bunch of officers who tried to question him."

"Green hair and purple eyes?" Furey asked. "But doesn't that sound an awful lot like-"

"Envy," Hawkeye growled. She rose quickly from the table. "I'll go alert the _General._"

. . .

**London, England**

**1926**

"Brother?" Al asked as he waved his hand in front of Edward's face.

Ed blinked. "Sorry . . . I was just thinking about something."

Up until that point, the elder brother had been starting at the wall; completely unresponsive to everything Alphonse was saying.

There was a knock on the door frame of the study. Since the door had been left ajar, the boys could see Patricia standing there, holding a tea tray.

"Thanks," Al said.

She nodded and handed them each a cup. "So have you found anything new on those old notes? You've been staring at the same pieces of paper for three years now, tell me you've got _something!"_

Al picked up one sheet and held it out to her. "This doesn't look like our father's writing."

Patricia nodded. "Edward wrote that, I'd recognize it anywhere."

Then under her breath she added, "chicken scratch . . ."

"It's not English . . ." Al muttered, more to himself.

Patricia nodded. "It wouldn't be . . . He almost always wrote anything of importance in some weird code language Hohenheim taught him."

Ed and Al both nodded. If was definitely Amestrian.

"So how's Wendy?" Al asked.

"The doctors told me she'll be fine, but honestly . . . I'm a bit worried. Well, I mean I'm always worried, but . . . Even though she's been getting better, she's still not looking so great." Patricia's voice was sad, yet somehow optimistic. "Ah, well . . . Maybe she and Edward will finally be together again."

_Soon we'll be together, Wendy. Soon . . . I promise. _

Isn't that what Edward Matthews had said when Ed heard his voice on his birthday?

"Ed, you okay?" Patricia asked.

Edward hadn't noticed it, but he had jumped to his feet. He sat back down on the floor, amongst the many loose pieces of paper and open books.

"When you boys are done with your tea, I was wondering if you would like to take a little break from working and drive down to the hospital. I have Edward's old car, I just have no idea how to drive it . . ."

Ed nodded. "Sure, Patricia. I haven't seen Wendy since Gracia and Hughes showed up at the hospital and we got kicked out of her room by that nurse for exceeding the maximum guest number of the room."

Patricia smiled. "Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are such nice people. Now a days you'd think all German's would be scum just from what you hear around and on the radio, but those two, along with Noah are the perfect examples of human beings."

Al grinned. "Yeah, and not only that but they're completely anti-Nazi!"

Patricia chuckled a little and walked out of the room. "Hurry up with that tea, I miss my Little Wendy."

"_Little Wendy?"_ Al repeated after she was gone.

"Patricia always calls Wendy that," Ed told him.

"I never noticed it before . . . Why does she call her that? Wendy's an adult. And from what I can tell from the pictures, she and Edward Matthews didn't start going out until they were both at least 16."*

"Yeah, but Edward and Wendy were best friends before they started dating. Ever since Wendy's mother would watch Edward while his mom was at work and his father was in prison," Ed explained. "I can't believe you didn't know that, Al, there's a big picture of the two of them on their first day of grammar school on top of Patricia's mantel."

Al shrugged. "I guess I just didn't pay attention, or maybe my mind just registered it as you and Winry . . . _Speaking_ of which, don't you find it a little odd that Wendy and Edward were childhood friends as well?"

Al's face was smug. Ed looked as if he wanted to punch his grin right off, but instead he just sighed. "Yeah . . . I guess."

It wasn't worth the argument.

Al's face changed when he saw his brother give up on a fight before it had started. That was strangely out of character. "Brother, what's wrong? You've been acting really weird."

Ed thought over his options for a minute. He could either tell Al what happened in the bathroom at the hospital, _or_ he could put it off longer until he knew more.

He decided to go with the former. He and his brother never kept secrets from each other. It was like an unwritten rule.

"That day, when we went to go see Wendy . . . I saw it; the gate. I was _there_, Al. Envy was, too, and I think I might have figured out a way home.

Al's eyes grew wide. "WHAT?"

Ed slapped his hand over his brother's mouth. "Do you want Patricia to hear?"

Al pulled away from his brother's reach. "No, sorry . . . Tell me!"

And so Ed did. He told Al everything that had happened from the time he started to feel his head hurt in the waiting room, to the visions in the bathroom, to the conversation with Envy, and finally his own opinions and what he had concluded from the experience. There _was_ a way back to Amestris.

Al was completely silent the entire time, soaking in every word. When Ed was done, Al sighed. "There's still that _one little piece_ that we're missing. Just like always, right, Brother?"

Ed nodded. "I was hoping that maybe looking through Dad's notes with fresh eyes and a new concept to inquire, we might find something. But all his theories point in the opposite direction. I just don't see how that could be right though . . . Dad always seemed to know exactly what he was doing."

"Brother," you don't really think that alchemic energy is really just the dead people on this side, do you?"

Ed shook his head. "Energy cannot be created or destroyed. But it's just like anything in life; we don't always know where it came from or where it's going. I'm not sure if it can travel between parallels, but I doubt it. Personally, I seriously find the theory to be impossible; that alchemists subconsciously open the inner gate when they do alchemy. How could alchemy be discovered without that prior knowledge? But then again, we _are_ just tiny, insignificant humans. We could be wrong, that's always a possibility."

Al looked down. He hated it when his brother acted so serious. It made him seem almost . . . Grown up. And Ed could grow up, because growing up meant giving up, eventually. And Al wasn't ready to give up.

That reminded him of something. "Brother? There's been something I've been meaning to talk to you about. It's about that day, when-"

"Are you boys almost ready?" Patricia called up the stairs.

"Yeah!" Ed yelled back. His face changed so he almost looked . . . Excited. He gulped down the rest of his tea and put the cup on the table.

Al stared down into his own, full cup. Maybe he wasn't ready to talk to Ed just yet.

"Come on, Al!" Ed said cheerfully. "Let's go see Wendy!"

Al placed his cup down on the desk. "Yeah, Brother."

He then followed Ed out of the room, without putting away any of the books.

_I have a feeling Brother and I might be spending the night at Patricia's house . . . We've got a _lot _to look over._

. . .

**Resembool, Amestris**

**1920**

**(Earth Year: 1926)**

"Did you have a nice time in Central?" Pinako asked as her granddaughter walked up to their house. Pinako was waiting outside, blowing her pipe.

_Just like she always does,_ Winry thought. _Waits and waits, knowing that we'll return. Always. _

Winry nodded. "Little Elysia is getting so big! I'm just gonna drop my suit case in my room, Granny. Then I'll take Den for a walk."

Hearing her name, Den lifted her head and wagged her tail**. Winry smiled and headed inside and up the stairs. She motioned for the dog to follow.

About ten minutes later, Winry and Den were on their walk.

Because her mind was wandering, Winry let Den lead the way on the oath. The next thing Winry knew, she was standing at the entry way to Resembool Cemetery.

Winry raised her eye brows and looked at the dog.

Den sat down firmly, and Winry knew she wasn't going anywhere.

She sighed. "I guess it _has _been a really long time since I came here . . ."

Moments later, she stood in front of her parents' grave stones.

"Mom . . . Dad . . ." she felt tears stinging in her eyes. "I'm sorry I haven't come down in so long. I guess I just haven't been thinking very straight lately. It's all because of those stupid Elric brothers. You knew them . . . We were always playing together, and you were friends with their mother. Well, they're gone now, too, and ever since they left I've been off. I don't know why . . . I mean it's been _three years_, yet I still write them letters. Maybe it's because . . . In a way, those boys were always my brick wall. When you guys died . . . They were still here, and they helped me get through it. And when Auntie Trisha died, they were still here, too. When we were little and Den got hit by that carriage, they held my hands while Granny amputated her leg. Even though it got really bloody and scary, and Al nearly threw up, they stayed by me. Any time I ever got hurt, or was sad, they always seemed to be there. They cheated death so many times, I never guessed that they could actually be taken from me. Al and I promised we'd get Ed back, but now I'm on my own and they're borth lost. 'The Elric Brothers'. You hear that name and no matter who you are you think of the same two people. They're like a disease; once they've entered your system you can't get them out. They'd help anyone and ask for nothing in return, and that's why every one loves them. But where was the equivalent exchange, then? It seems all they ever did was give. When you two died, I know that Al thought I had already lost more than they ever would, Al told me so once, and Ed agreed. But that wasn't true! They never got to know their father at all, and then their mother died! I had Granny but they had no one. Then, Ed lost and arm and a leg, and Al lost his whole body. But _still_ they thought that there were others out there who had it even worse than they did!"

Winry sank to her knees, tears running hot down her cheeks. "Mom . . . Dad . . . Why did you have to go away? You two were no better than those stupid Elric brothers . . . You, too, helped everyone unconditionally, and because of it you had to die, and Mustang almost took his own life!"

She didn't mean to, but she had started yelling. "Death, depression, disappearances! Is that the cost of helping people? WHERE THE HELL IS THE EQUIVILENCY?"

Winry buried her face in her arms and sobbed. She felt as if everything worth living for had been taken away. So what was the point?

She felt something brush against her and looked up to find Den standing there. She whimpered once and nuzzled Winry's shoulder.

Winry sighed and stood up. "Come on, girl . . . Let's go home."

. . .

**London, England**

**1926**

Al's feeling was right.

After spending about three hours at the hospital with Wendy, Ed and Al went back to Patricia's house to continue working.

At around eleven o'clock, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Ed called, placing his finger in the section of the book he was on.

Patricia entered, wearing a long night gown and slippers. Her orange-gray hair was tied back in a long braid. "I've just phoned Lisa, she says you boys should just spend the night because it's already far too late for someone to come and get you. I just thought I'd let you know. And you boys remember where the guest room is, I assume?"

Ed nodded. "Okay, thanks Patricia. But-wait, you don't have a phone."

"I used one of those red box thingies with the telephones*** on the inside!" Patricia told them. "It's very exciting! You guys should try it tomorrow!"

The brother exchanged looks, both chocking back laughter.

"thanks again, Patricia," Al said. "Night."

The woman smiled and retreated to her own bedroom.

At around midnight, Al, too began to feel drowsy. He tried to hide it, but eventually he could no longer contain his yawns.

Ed chuckled. "Tired, Al? Why don't you go downstairs to the guest room?"

Al shook his head. "No, Brother, I want to help."

"What help will you be if you aren't awake enough to pay attention?" Ed pointed out. "You need rest, go on and get some sleep."

"But if I sleep in the guest room where will you go?" Al asked.

Ed shrugged. "Probably on the ouch, just like any other time we've spent the night here. Just go to sleep. We have to be back home early tomorrow anyway, we've got lots of chores to get done."

Al yawned again and rubbed his eyes. "If you're sure, Brother."

He rose from the floor and walked out of the room, stretching his arms as he went.

Ed let a small grin cross his face. Even now, three years later, Ed still couldn't help but smile when he remembered that his little brother could dream again.

. . .

Al was asleep seconds after his head hit the pillow.

_Al could hear Teacher crying in her room from the kitchen. He had no idea why, but he was too afraid to ask._

"_Izumi?" Al head Sig's voice in the room over. "Why are you crying? What's wrong?"_

_Izumi sniffled. "It's just . . . I found this."_

_Al heard the sound of paper being passed handled. _

"_A picture of the Elrics?" Sig asked. _

_Al froze. _

"_They're both fully human, and together," Izumi said. Her voice was soft._

_Up until then, Al had been trying to pretend he wasn't listening by just staring down at the table. But now . . ._

_He jumped out of his chair and pressed his ear to the wall separating student from teacher. _

"_I started thinking," Izumi said. "When Edward and Alphonse were here last, and Al got kidnapped . . ."_

"_Kidnapped?" Al whispered to himself. It must have been one of the memories he had forgotten._

"_I-I made a promise," his teacher continued. "On that day, I promised that I wouldn't let anymore babies be taken from me. But now . . ."_

"_You can't possibly blame yourself for what happened to Ed!" Sig exclaimed. _

_Al leaning in closer. So close in fact that his cheek was completely squished against the wall._

"_I was with him just an hour before!" Izumi cried. "Maybe the reason I wasn't able to have our child was because fate new I wasn't meant to be a parent!"_

_Al's eyes widened._

"_I tried to get back our baby, and that poor boy Wrath is paying for it now. I began to love Ed and Al as more than students; I thought of them as my own children," Izumi confessed._

_Al smiled a little. He had always known it was true, but hearing his teacher say it was something else. _

"_And look what happened to them!" Izumi exclaimed. "First, they repeat my mistakes and pay too high a price, then, Ed gets taken away from us and Al loses all his memories of his brother! It's like Ed was completely erased for that boy, while the rest of us get to keep a part of him with us! It's not fair to the children that my faults cause _them_ to suffer!"_

_After that, Al heard heavy footsteps; something he assumed to be Sig stepping forward to hug her. _

"_I just don't want to see anymore children die," Izumi said quietly. So quietly that Al almost didn't hear her._

_Almost. _

Al sat straight up in his bed, cold sweat on his forehead. The dream hadn't seemed like a nightmare until he woke up-rather just a sad memory.

He knew Edward missed Teacher more than he let on, but that was only because Ed and Izumi were so much alike. Neither of them liked to talk about their feelings, they'd rather just pretend they didn't have any.

But nothing gets rid of feelings.

. . .

***I figured that since Earth seems to be 6 years ahead of Amestris, it would make sense that Edward Matthews was 6 years older than Ed (even though that's not the case with Alfons and Al). It'd make a lot more sense for a 21-year-old to be engaged then a 16-year-old, right? So going by that logic Edward Matthews would be about 26 and happily married if he hadn't died. **

****Did anyone else think Den was a guy? I did! But nope, Den the Dog is in fact a girl. I know, I was as shocked as you are (unless you already knew). **

*****There actually were red telephone boxes all over England in this time period. I believe they were installed all over the place in 1925, but it might have been 1926.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer - I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist**

**A/N - No one hates me right? XD I felt kinda bad about throwing that whole Winry-Thing on you, and then I just added to it by Al's nightmare . . . Sorry! I know it was kinda sad but I hope that none of you were like upset because I've gotten complaints on other accounts that my writing is too depressing XD. So, sorry if anyone got upset (I don't have that many readers anyway so I'm not too, too worried). This chapter's got a little more mental-fuckery, just a warning. Sorry in advance.**

. . .

**London, England**

**1926**

"DADDY!" Amanda screamed when her father walked through the door the next morning. She ran over to him and jumped into his arms. "Did you get all your work done?"

He swung her around in a circle. "Yep, and guess what that means?"

"Trip!" Amanda screeched. "You promised once you were don't with your chores we'd all go to see the stores and get lunch!"

Roy nodded. "Uh-huh. Why don't you go get your coat from your room and I'll go start the car up, okay?"

Amanda nodded and leaped out of his arms.

"Come on, Mandy, I'll help you," Noah said, offering her hand. The toddler accepted and the two of them walked up the stairs.

"Since you boys got home so fast _and_ finished your chores before ten," Roy added to Ed and Al in that sarcastically powerful tone he always used. "I guess I'll allow you to come along. If you want, that is."

"Thanks, but I don't think so," Ed replied. "Neither of us got very much sleep last night, I was thinking we'd just stay here and nap . . ."

"No!" Al exclaimed, standing up from his seat at the table.

Roy, Lisa, and Ed gave him sideways looks.

"I mean-uh . . . Mandy's been looking forward to this for weeks!" Al said in a shaky voice-trying to sound casual and unsuspicious (and failing). "She'd be so upset if we didn't go, right?"

Ed shrugged. "Well, I guess we could always sleep when we got back . . ."

Al nodded. "Yeah, good idea, Brother."

"I'm going to start the car," Roy announced after a slightly awkward silence. He walked out the front door carrying his coat. The car-much like the telephone-was a newer addition to the household.

Noah and Mandy returned from upstairs, Amanda now wearing her winter coat.

Noah walked over to the coat closet and pulled out her own, Ed's and Al's. She threw the boys' to them.

"Thanks!" the chorused. The three of them pulled on their coats.

Lisa grabbed hers from the back of her chair, stood up and put it on. She picked Lewis up out of his high chair and pulled his little hat over his head. She also wrapped him up in blankets. "Let's start walking down the road. By the time we get to the bottom, Roy will have started the car."

Ed grabbed the stroller that Lisa always used for Lewis and offered it to her. Lisa nodded her thanks and positioned the baby so he would be comfortable.

"How are we gonna fit that in the car?" Al asked.

Lisa shrugged. "I suppose if we balance it on the seat it would fit."

Noah opened the front door and the six of them filed out.

"Eddie! Play horse-y!" Mandy exclaimed.

"Amanda, it's a long walk down the hill, don't bother Ed, you can walk," Lisa gently told her daughter.

"Nah," Ed said, lifting the little girl onto his back. "Eddie's really strong, right Mandy?"

Amanda nodded. "Right!"

. . .

The drive to the stores was shorter then the ride to Patricia's house, but much more uncomfortable. The Stanley's Crossley 14 was not made to easily fit seven people and a baby stroller. The structure of the car made the back seat big enough to put the stroller on the floor, but it didn't leave much room. And on top of that, because it was so cold out, Roy refused to put the roof down.

Roy was driving, with Lisa squished up in the middle next to him. She had Lewis in her arms. Next to her on the end of the front row was Edward, who was pushed against the window with Mandy on his lap. In the back seat were Al and Noah, with the stroller. Noah was against the window, and Al was practically on top of her.

"Well . . ." Ed managed. "This is . . . Cozy."

"ROADTRIP!" Amanda yelled.

. . .

**Central, Amestris**

**1920**

**(Earth Year: 1926)**

Hawkeye dropped a stack of papers on Mustang's desk. "Sir, I believe you will find the information in this report rather interesting."

Mustang gave her and _are you serious?_ look. "Hawkeye, what the hell is this? I have enough of my _own _paper work to do."

"But it's not like you're actually gonna do it," Havoc chimed in from his desk a few yards away.

Mustang chucked a pen at him, but he dodged it.

"It has to do with your private investigation on Envy the homunculus, Sir," Hawkeye told him. "The one you told us not to put on file."

He sat up straighter in his chair-paying full attention.

"He's been spotted again around East City, and not long after that, a man showed up at a hospital vomiting blood. The reports came back saying that the man had no stomach. It was as if it had just disappeared. At his apartment, investigators found large amounts of blood that wasn't his around a large transmutation circle in his living room."

Mustang gasped. "You don't think he tried human transmutation, do you?"

"No, his stomach just disappeared and a giant circle just showed up in his house!" Havoc exclaimed sarcastically. Mustang chucked another pen.

Hawkeye sighed. "I'm not sure, Sir. But as Havoc said, I see few other possibilities as to what could have happened. All the man said before he died at the hospital was that some eccentrically attired person gave him instructions on how to bring his wife back to life. He never admitted to trying the transmutation, but it's doubtable that he didn't. Something similar happened a few towns over four days prior, but no result of the transmutation was found at either site."

Mustang's hands clenched into fists. "So he's giving people formulas to attempt human alchemy, but why?"

"Yeah, why _would_ a revenge-seeking homunculus create more homunculi?" Havoc asked sarcastically. This earned him another pen.

"Damn it, Havoc I'm not going to have anything to write with!" Mustang complained.

"Perhaps he's trying to replace the homunculi that were killed," Hawkeye suggested. "As Havoc said-he probably wants revenge."

Her voice was even, but Mustang could tell by her eyes that she was worried.

Mustang nodded. "As much as I hate to admit it, I think that's the only logical explanation. I should go down to the library later to refresh my memory on what we know of homunculi."

He pulled out some paper to make a note to himself, but when he reached for a pen he realized he had run out. He groaned and Havoc snickered.

. . .

**(Under) Eastern City, Amestris**

Envy stood before the two baby homunculi. The older one was just starting to take on a humanoid appearance, even though he was so young. He was eating the stones faster than Envy had ever seen.

The four hundred-year-old homunculi had decided to hide out in one of the many underground houses he and Dante had created to hide the homunculi in back when she was still alive. There was still a rather large supply of red stones down there, because Dante had always liked to be prepared. She had built many of these houses, in the places she had gathered her original homunculi from.

Envy looked at the older of the two babies. The human he was starting to look like had been a farmer just outside East City two years before. Only 32 when he died.

His nephew was the one Envy had persuaded to create him. Now he was in a grave as well.

"I think I'll call you New-Gluttony," Envy said, more to himself than to the homunculus. "You eat just like he did."

He turned to the newer one-the woman. "And you. You were only 21, and from those pictures that your husband showed me, _very_ pretty. You'll be New-Lust, and your job will be to seduce losers that we can use as pawns . . ."

The two monsters didn't even look up from their meal.

"Next, we'll go to Resembool. Dante made an underground hide out there to take care of Sloth until we could move her. But we'll just take the stones from there; after what happened to the Elrics, no one in Resembool would be dumb enough to try human alchemy, even if they don't know what really happened that night. No, we'll make another one in the south, then the west, then the north. By then, there will be at least six of us, and if we need to, we'll go to Central."

. . .

**London, England**

**1926**

After roaming around the stores for a couple hours, Ed began to become extremely bored. After all, his options were rather limited. Either go look at clothes with Lisa, Noah, and Lewis, or follow Amanda around with Roy as she searched for candy and toy stores.

He sighed. Why hadn't he and Al just stayed home to sleep?

"Hey, Elrics," Roy said, noticing Ed's boredom. "Why don't you two go find a good place to get lunch? It's nearly one in the after noon and we still haven't eaten."

"Okay," Al agreed. He turned around in the direction of a few different restaurants they had passed. "Come on, Brother."

Ed shot Roy a grateful look before following after his brother.

After they had been walking for a few minutes, Al decided to reattempted the conversation he and Ed had almost had. "Uh . . . Brother, do you remember at Patricia's, before we went to see Wendy? There was something I wanted to talk about . . ."

Ed caught the way his younger brother's voice had changed towards the end of the sentence. Whatever this was, it must be serious. "What is it, Al?"

"Well, it's just that I . . .uh . . ." He was doing it again. He was chickening out. Alphonse Elric; former 8ft suit of armor, alchemy prodigy, fighter of homunculi, was a chicken. "It's . . . uh . . . Well, I mean . . . You know what? Never mind! It's nothing _really."_

Al had never been a good liar. "Alphonse, tell me what's wrong before I have to beat it ou-"

"Ed! Al!"

The older Elric was cut off by the small teenage girl calling them and waving from about twenty yards away. Nina Andrews.

"Hey, Nina!" Al called back, and waved.

She ran over to them. "What are you guys doing here? You never come shopping, you always send Wendy! But then again . . . She can't really shop for you right now, can she?"

"Amanda wanted us to," Al explained. "We're just looking for a place to eat now."

"Oh, I know a great place!" Nina told them. "The owner's a little kooky, but the food's _great! _Follow me, I'll show you!"

. . .

"WELCOME TO MY RESTURANT! I GREATLY APPRICIATE YOUR BUISNESS AND HOPE THAT YOU ENJOY THE DELICIOUS RECIPES THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!"

Ed and Al's jaws dropped. They stood there in shock, staring up at the giant mass of muscle that was Alex Luis Armstrong-rather, _this_ world's version.

"You know what Little Brother?" I'm suddenly not very hungry anymore! Let's just go back," Ed suggested in a small voice. He and Al began to make a run for it but Armstrong grabbed the back of their coats and held them in place.

"NONSENSE YOU BOYS LOOK ABSOLUTLY FAMISHED! YOU MUST COME INSIDE AND EAT AT ONCE!"

"B-but we've gotta go get the others," Al said, thinking fast. "How else will they know where we went?"

"I'll send them here!" Nina offered. "You two go get a table, I'll find Roy and Lisa. I've got to walk that way to get home anyway."

"Oh, but Nina we couldn't ask you to do that for us!" Ed exclaimed. "Really, Al and I could just-"

"IT HAS BEEN DECIDED!" Armstrong swung them both over either shoulder in a fireman's lift. "I SHALL SHOW YOU TO YOUR TABLE!"

The boys groaned.

"We can't even escape the crazy in another dimension!" Ed cried.

. . .

Ed bit into his chicken and moaned in appreciation. "Best damn chicken ever."

Amanda made a scared face and glared at the bite that was on her fork. "_Chicken?"_

"Yeah, we eat chicken all the time," Al told her. "When your mommy makes it."

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "Like the chickens in the hen house?"

"No!" Ed lied. "This is a different kind of chicken. This chicken . . . Grows on trees. Like apples."

Amanda's face returned to normal. "Oh, okay!"

She began eating again.

Ed and Al sighed in relief.

"Very nice, boys," Noah scolded.

"Hey," Ed whispered. "She's happy, we're happy, everyone wins."

Noah just shook her head. "I pray for your future children . . ."

Ed slumped back in his chair with his arms crossed.

_Future children . . ._

That got him thinking. He had never really thought so far ahead that he reached the point of wondering about marriage or children. Was it possible that he could possibly have kids someday? The thought seemed impossible. But then again, three years ago, if you asked him, he'd say that there was no way in hell that Roy Mustang would ever have children. But now, looking at Roy Stanley with Amanda and Lewis, it seemed perfectly possible.

"Ugh . . ." Ed's face morphed when he pictured it. Himself, a _father._

Even now, the word "father" left a sour taste on his tongue. Fathers left. Fathers weren't loving. Fathers didn't care.

Would he be the same way is father was? Never around, leaving his family alone. Or would he be like Hughes was with Elysia or Roy was with Amanda?

He hoped for the latter. In fact, he made a silent promise to himself right then and there. If he ever had kids, he'd be the best damn father ever.

"Brother, your face looks weird," Al told him. "What are you thinking about?"

"N-nothing!" Ed exclaimed, embarrassed. He had _not_ just been caught thinking about having kids. He was too tired for this . . .

"Eddie, can we plant a chicken tree when we get home?" Amanda asked.

Al and Noah giggled behind their palms.

While Ed was grateful for the change of topic, he also felt utterly screwed.

"Uh . . . Well, you see, Mandy . . . Um . . . It's just that . . . Chicken trees can only be planted in the summer, like all the other fruits and vegetables," Ed told her with big fake smile.

Amanda looked down, discouraged. "Oh . . ."

. . .

When everyone had finished their delicious lunches (made from recipes that had been passed down the Armstrong line for generations), Roy decided that the shopping trip was over, and they were going home.

Ed was almost happy to get back in the clown car. Getting home meant getting sleep. He hadn't told Al, but in truth he had pulled an all-nighter doing research. He just pretended to have gone to bed the next morning, but he actually hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours.

Al must have been tired, too. He had gone to bed at midnight and woken up before 5 in the morning in order to get back to the farm to do his chores. But for some reason, the younger Elric seemed almost . . . _depressed _about leaving.

"What's wrong, Al?" Ed asked, seeing his brother's expression. "You ust be exhausted! Aren't you happy to go home and sleep?"

Al shrugged. "I guess."

"What time _did_ you boys go to bed?" Lisa asked in that strict, yet motherly, tone of voice.

"Uh . . ." Al tried to speak casually. "Like midnight . . ."

"WHAT?" Lisa screamed. Roy swerved in the road, startled by the outburst.

"You boys are operating off less than five hours of sleep? That's no good! As soon as we get home I want you in your rooms, curtains drawn. I'll wake you up for dinner, but until then you boys are napping!"

Amanda laughed. "Eddie and Al have to take naps!"

"You, too, Missy," Lisa told her. "You and Lewis have had a long day. You could use some sleep as well."

Amanda scowled, folded her arms over her chest, and growled softly, though only Ed was close enough to hear her.

. . .

As soon as they arrived home, Ed and Al did exactly as Lisa had instructed. They went straight up to their bedroom and closed the curtains.

The brothers didn't bother undressing. They simply pulled off their shirts, shoes, and socks and crawled into their beds, which were positioned parallel to each other, with about three feet of walking room between.

_I'll just lay here,_ Al told himself. _If I just stay awake I can't have nightmares. If I don't sleep I'll be fine . . . Just . . . Stay . . . Awake . . ._

Against his own will power, he yawned.

_No, no yawning! _

Edward's soft snoring next to him was already making it worse. They had only been up there for ten minutes, how could Ed already be asleep? Al thought about how nice it must be to just sleep like Ed did. His bed was so comfortable . . . He hadn't slept for more than a few hours in _so long._

Finally, he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.

_Just resting my eyes for a second . . ._

. . .

"_Show me what you really look like!" Ed yelled as he punched Envy repeatedly. "Instead of acting like a _coward_ whose only real power is to hide behind other people's faces!"_

"_Do you really wanna see?" Envy hissed evilly. _

_Al wanted nothing more than to stand up and help his brother fight, but he couldn't. He couldn't do anything._

_Al watched as Envy's form morphed. His legs got a little longer, his skin just a shade darker. But the most significant changes were those of his eyes and hair. They were gold. He looked just like . . ._

"_Envy was the very first homunculi," Dante interrupted Al's thought. "Created by Hohenheim almost 400 years ago. The result of the failed human transmutation of out son, who died prematurely to mercury poisoning."_

_Al saw that his brother was frozen. They had actually managed to stun him still . . . But he had to move! He had to fight!_

"_I suppose you could say that Envy was once your brother," Dante added, probably just to be cruel. _

"_Then he abandoned me. Started fresh with his new wife and kids," Envy said. He now spoke with his real voice, which was deeper and a little gravelly. "Needless to say, I never did like being replaced."_

_Something changed in his eyes, and for a split second, the Earth seemed to stand still; time stopped all together. _

_Then, as if in slow motion, Al watched as Envy's arm morphed into a pointed tip, which he rammed through Edward's stomach. _

_Al took a shaky breath*. "Brother?"'_

_In response, Edward opened his mouth, almost as if to say something. But instead, blood poured out. _

_Envy grinned and threw Ed to the side as if he were nothing more than garbage. _

"_EDWARD!" Rose screamed. She tried to run forward but Dante stopped her. _

_Al didn't even have time to process that Rose had broken free from her trans. He was too preoccupied. He was too preoccupied watching his brother's blood spill out on the floor. _

_Envy stood up, grinning. "That was too easy, humans are so pathetic." _

"_Brother, no . . ." Al said to himself. If a suit of armor could cry, that's what Al would have been doing. "You can't die! It's supposed to be me!"_

"_He's . . . dead?" Wrath asked weakly. He was lying on the floor, only a few feet from Edward's body._

"_That's right, he's setting the pace!" Envy growled, back in his form that was more familiar to Alphonse. "For every human to follow! Now we'll kill off each one of them until only homunculi are left."_

_He laughed, a cold, sinister, _evil_ laugh._

"_Brother can't die! That's ridiculous! He wouldn't let that happen! He couldn't!" Al squeaked. _

"_That's reality for you," Dante began. But Al stopped listening. He had an idea . . . _

_Even as Gluttony began to devour his insides, he was thinking. There _must_ be a way . . ._

_It would work, it had to._

_Al used his alchemy to free himself, knowing and excepting the risks. _

_When he sat up, he saw that almost all of his insides were gone. There was hardly any of the stone left . . ._

_. . . But it would be enough._

_Dante began to stalk towards him, yelling for what he had done. _

"_Stay back!" Al commanded. She froze. "You can't make me do anything." _

"_And what do you think _you _could pull off?" Dante asked. _

_Alphonse walked up to his brother's corpse. He did the best he could to keep his composure. "Brother hasn't been dead for long."_

_He reached out his hand and rested it on Ed's cheek. "Look, there's still some color in his face. His soul is probably still at the gate. I just have to pull it back, the same way he did for me."_

"_Don't be a fool!" Dante told him. "You know what would happen to you-"_

"_Yeah, I do," Al snapped. "A lot of people died to make this stone, and I would have died too, if not for them. And it's time I gave my share, and made my own choice."_

"_Alphonse!" Rose exclaimed weakly._

"_Good bye, Rose," he said. Envy laughed at him. _

"_This is for you, brother."_

_Al clapped his hands together as he had seen Ed so do many times. He activated the stone inside him, and did what he had promised to never to again; human transmutation._

_Then, the memory changed. Instead of waking up on the floor of the big ball room, ten-years-old and without memories, he was standing in a completely white room, or if you could call it a room. It had no walls of ceilings, it was just _space._ And he was in his adult human body, no longer a child. _

_Standing in front of him was a sixteen-year-old version of his brother. _

_Ed was looking down at his shoes, a smirk on his face. _

_Al sighed in relief. "Ed, I-"_

"_Ed?" the older (well, in this case younger) brother asked. "Who's Ed? My name's Greed. The _new_ Greed."_

_He lifted his head, so Al could see his eyes. They weren't gold-they were purple. _

"What?" _Al asked. He backed away a step. "No . . ."_

_Ed chuckled and rolled up his right sleeve, revealing a real flesh-and-bone arm, and also an ouroboros tattoo. "You know what happens when you do human alchemy, _don't_ you, Alphonse Elric? I mean, you _did_ already try it once n your mother. And again when you created me, you sick, twisted, bastard."_

"_No . . . I didn't mean for it to-"_

"_Why, Al?" Ed-Greed-asked sadly. "Why would you make me suffer like this? And everyone else as well!"_

_Suddenly, they weren't alone in the big white space anymore. There were thousands of other people there, too. _

_Winry was among them. She was in the front of the crowd with Pinako, kneeling on the ground, sobbing hysterically. "Why, Al? Why couldn't you just have let him rest in peace? Didn't you learn anything from your mother?"_

_Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye were also there, dressed in their military uniforms. _

"_I gave up my eye for you and your brother, Al," Mustang said. "And you couldn't even bring Ed home alive! Instead you just create another monster."_

"_No, I'm sorry!" Al exclaimed. _

"_You never learn!" Izumi yelled at him. She, Sig, and Mason were there as well, looking _very_ pissed. _

"_Why, Al?" Rose asked sadly. "You're just making him suffer more."_

"_Please!" Al begged. "It was an accident! I didn't mean for it to happen this way! I thought that if I used the stone, I could-"_

"_Look at all the others!" Ed interrupted, gesturing towards the rest of the people, none of whom Al knew. "Notice what they look like?"_

_Al _had _noticed. They were all either Ishballan or Military. _

"_These are the people whose souls were used by _you_ in to create _me_," Ed told him. His body began to change. He sprouted up in the air. His muscles became more defined on his long arms, and his hair grew a little, too. It was Edward of the present day, but with purple irises and a tattoo. _

"_Me," twenty-one-year-old Edward said bitterly. "A suffering, miserable, _homunculus!"

. . .

***Ever notice that Al still pants and gasps even though he's a suit of armor? I noticed that while re-watching this part of the episode. It's weird. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer - I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist**

**A/N - Sorry it's been so long since an update (nearly a week!) I've just been kinda busy with exams at school, but that's not a very god excuse. I'll try to be more on top of this!**

. . .

**London, England**

**1926**

Ed was awaken suddenly by the sound of groaning and thrashing blankets.

"Ugh, Al I really hope you're not dreaming about what I think you're dreaming about," Ed mumbled into his pillow, his eyes still shut. "Because not only is that gross, but it's also a terrible reason to wake me up."

"No, I'm sorry!" Al yelled in his sleep.

"Ew."

"Please! Brother, I didn't mean it!" Al exclaimed. "I'm sorry!"

Ed's eyes shot open.

"Sorry! Sorry!"

He jumped out of his bed and ran to his brother's. He began shaking his little brother's shoulders. "Al! Wake up!"

Al continued to kick his legs around; his sheet were balled up at the end of his bed. He had sweat dripping down his forehead.

"Al! It's just a dream, wake up!" Ed continued to shake him around.

Noah and Lisa came running in without knocking.

"What's going on?" Lisa demanded.

"Al's having a nightmare," Ed explained. "He used to get them a lot when we were younger, and it's always been hard to wake him up. I remember once, when we were really little, our father had to dunk him in a tub of cold water."

"Hopefully we won't have to resort to that," Lisa said, rushing over to help Ed. Noah followed close behind. After a few minutes, Ed sighed; defeated. "I guess I have no other choice."

Without warning, the elder Elric reached under his brother's mattress, and flipped it over in one quick motion.

Al hit the hard wood floors with a loud _thump!_

"Ow . . ." he mumbled.

Plan = effective.

"Sorry, Al," Ed apologized. "You weren't waking up."

Al stood up and fixed his bed and sheets. "No; thank you, Brother."

The four of them were silent.

From a few rooms away, you could hear a baby's cry from the nursery.

"Oh, shoot!" Lisa muttered under her breath as she ran from the room to get Lewis before his screams woke Amanda, too.

When she was gone, Ed and Al looked at Noah.

"Supper won't be ready for another half hour, if you're still tired," she told them.

"Okay," Ed said. "Thanks, Noah."

She turned around and walked away. But before she left, she paused in the doorframe. "What was it about? When he had to be thrown in cold water."

Ed raised his eyebrows, a little thrown off by the question. "Something about being stuck alone in a fire, I think."

Noah nodded once, then walked out; closing the door behind her.

. . .

**Resembool, Amestris**

**1902**

**Older Brother - 3, Younger Brother - 2**

Trisha felt a small tug on her skirt. She looked down to see the big golden eyes of her eldest son staring up at her.

"What are you doing out of bed, Ed?" she asked as she bent down to his height.

"Mommy! Al keeps yelling in his sleep I think something's wrong with him," Ed told her. He looked scared.

Trisha looked up at her husband. They had been standing in the kitchen, talking about things that Ed was too young to understand.

She stood up, pulled her son into her arms, and followed her husband into the room her children shared.

Hohenheim picked up his younger son and shook him gently. "Alphonse, wake up."

"He's still sleeping," Trisha said in a worried tone as she watched tears trek down Al's struggling face.

"Mommy, is Al okay?" Ed asked.

Trisha smiled at him. "Of course he is, Little Man. He's just having a bad dream."

"Fill the tub with ice water," Hohenheim instructed. "I don't want to do it this way . . . But I doubt he'll wake up if we don't."

Trisha nodded and brought Edward with her into the bathroom. She placed him down on the floor and hurried to start pumping water.

Ed watched as his mother filled the tub. When it was full, he stuck his pudgy baby-finger in and drew it out immediately. "Brr!"Trisha stroked his hair from his face. "Yes, it's cold. It has to be."

Hohenheim entered then, holding a thrashing Alphonse in his arms. He walked over to the rub, and dunked his son quickly under the water, then pulled him back out.

Al gasped for air, his eyes shot open. He began to cry out of fear. And he was cold.

Ed hid behind his mother's leg as she pulled Al's soaked pajamas off and wrapped him in blankets.

Eventually, Al's crying and screaming became more faint, and eventually ended all together with a final hiccup.

"All better?" Trisha asked.

Al nodded. "I had a bad dream."

Trisha nodded. "I know, Baby."

"There was a fire and I couldn't find you!" Al told her. Tears formed in his eyes again. "It was scary, Mommy!"

His mother pulled him into her chest. "Shh . . . It's okay. It's over now right? Mommy's here, Daddy's here, Ed's here . . ."

Ed nodded. "Yeah. It's okay! Bad dreams aren't real anyways."

. . .

**London, England**

**1926**

**Older Brother - 21, Younger Brother - 19**

Eighteen years later, and so much had changed. Now they knew; sometimes, bad dreams _were _real. And this time, Mommy _wasn't_ there.

Ed sighed and sat on the edge of his brother's bed. "So, what were you dreaming about, then?"

Al squirmed uncomfortably next to him. "N-nothing."

"It didn't seem like nothing," Ed told him.

Al looked down.

"Earlier today, you started to tell me something," Edward said. "Did it have something to do with that? Tell me, Al."

His brother sighed. "I wanted to tell you that I've been having nightmares - but not just normal nightmares, memories. Replaying in my head."

"For how long?" Ed asked, trying to hide his concern. The truth was, he still got nightmares like that sometimes, too.

"A few weeks," Al admitted. "But that's not all. These nightmares . . . They all lead me to the same conclusion."

"Which is?" Ed pressed.

Al took a deep breath. "Brother, do you remember how teacher told us she created Wrath?"

"She said that homunculi were created when people tired to revive the dead," Ed said.

Al nodded. "And Brother, on that day five years ago . . . _You_ were dead. Envy killed you-"

"Al, where are you going with this?" Ed asked.

"And you said that homunculi could call on the gate, just as you did. Brother, you need to tell me . . . Did I fail at bringing you back?" Al shut his eyes tight and braced himself for the answer.

For a moment, there was silence. Then -

Ed began to laugh hysterically. He doubled over, clutching his ribs. "Are you serious?"

Al's eyebrows furrowed. "Hey! You're laughing at me!"

"You . . . Think . . . I'm . . . a _homunculus?"_ Ed asked between gasps of air. "That's hilarious!"

"Brother, I'm serious!" Al insisted.

Ed took a deep breath and stopped laughing. "Al, if I'm a homunculus, then explain why I could still do alchemy the day I went back to Amestris."

"But Wrath could do alchemy," Al pointed out. "I've already considered that."

"Fine, then explain my automail," Ed said, holding out his right arm for his brother to see.

"Wrath had automail, too," Al said.

"My eyes aren't purple."

"Neither were Wrath or Sloth's at first, and Envy could change his eye color. Gluttony didn't even have irises."

"I don't have a tattoo."

"What if it's hidden? Gluttony's was on his tongue. Wrath, the bottom of his foot. Sloth under her shirt. Pride's was on his eyeball!"

"Would you like me to strip?" Ed snapped.

Al cringed. "That's okay."

Ed shook his head. "You've really given this a lot of thought, huh?"

Al nodded.

"And you're genuinely concerned?"

Al nodded again.

Ed sighed and stood up. He slowly rolled up his under-shirt, revealing a large, pink scar on his chest, over his heart. Even though the wound was several years old, the marks still looked newly healed. Looking at it made Al's stomach turn. "Explain that, then. This is the scar from when Envy stabbed me. If I were a homunculi, I wouldn't still have this mark."

Al sighed in relief. "I was afraid . . . I was afraid I had done to you what we did to Mom."

Ed smiled sadly. "No, Al."

"But that still doesn't explain why you could open the gate . . ." Al said.

"I've been thinking about that, Al," Ed told his brother. "And I think . . . I think I might have figured it out."

Al's eyes grew wide. "Tell me!"

"Boys, supper!" Lisa called from the kitchen.

"I'll tell you later, Ed promised.

"But, Ed -"

"We don't have time now! Let's just go eat."

"But . . ."

"EDWARD! ALPHONSE! YOUR SHEPHERD'S PIE IS GETTING COLD!" Lisa shouted. "IF YOU MAKE ME THROW AWAY FOOD YOU'LL BE CLEANING UP AFTER EVERYONE ELSE!"

Ed and Al jumped up and ran down the stairs.

"Impatient dictator-housewife . . ." Ed mumbled to himself.

_. . ._

**Resembool, Amestris**

**1920**

**(Earth Year - 1926)**

Winry was at the end of a _very_ long line at the hardware store. All she needed was a few parts, but it appeared she would be there for a very long time. The clerk was an old man who clearly didn't know what he was doing.

She stood their tapping her foot impatiently when something outside the window caught her eye.

Her head snapped around just in time to see a man with long green hair and strange black clothes walk by the window. He reminded Winry somewhat of a palm tree.

An image flashed in her head. A very badly drawn picture done by Ed when he was hospitalized in Central. It bore some resemblance to this man. And something Rose had said about a homunculus who could shape shift . . .

Envy!

Winry abandoned her place in line and ran outside the store. "Hey! Wait!"

She ran over to Envy and grabbed his shoulder.

He swerved with a murderous look in his eye. When he saw who it was that had stopped him, his face changed from anger to confusion. "You?"

"Your name is 'Envy' right?" Winry asked.

"You're the Pipsqueak's girlfriend!" Envy exclaimed, ignoring the question.

Winry blushed violently. "I am not his girlfriend!"

"Okay, and I'm a human being," Envy agreed sarcastically. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some underground business to attend to."

Winry gasped. "Wait! You're wanted by the military! What if I just report that I saw you?"

"Shall I erase her memory of this meeting?"

It was then that Winry realized Envy wasn't alone. There were two others with him; a man thin man with short black hair, purple eyes, and a fat stomach. The woman had long curly black hair and purple eyes as well. She was tall, skinny, and very beautiful. It was she who had spoken.

"Erase me memories?" Winry asked.

Envy nodded. "One of Lust's special skills. _This_ Lust, anyway. The other one's Gluttony, and he, like the Gluttony before him, has the power of being a fat-ass cannibal/goat."

"Well?" Lust asked. Her voice was silky and seductive.

"Or may I eat the pretty girl?" Gluttony asked. "She'd make a lovely lunch."

"No," Envy told them. "We want the military tracking us, remember?"

Gluttony sighed. "I'm never allowed any fun . . ."

"Least you're smarter than the last Gluttony," Envy muttered to himself, trying to stay optimistic. He began to walk away, with Lust and Gluttony following.

"Wait!" Winry cried. "You haven't explained anything!"

. . .

**London, England**

**1926**

The dinner table was silent. After seeing the spectacle with Al; Ed, Noah, and Lisa all felt a little awkward about starting up a conversation, as did Alphonse. Roy could sense the tension in the room, and made the wise decision to not ask. Lewis of course couldn't talk yet.

So, that left it up to Amanda to start the talking. Because if there was one thing that she hated above all else, it was silence.

But what would she say? She was only two-and-a-half, after all. Conversations had always been started for her.

"Is Shepherd's pie made from real shepherds?"

"No, Mandy," Roy told his daughter. That was it.

Her plan had failed, she needed a new approach.

She decided to ask the one question that had always entered her head when Edward's arms were exposed, she had just never mustered up the courage.

But the family meal was at stake, damn it! She'd do what she had to do. "Eddie?"

"What's up, Mandy?" Ed asked with a mouthful of pie.

"How come your arms don't match?" she asked. "One's shorter and metal."

"Amanda Margret Stanley!" Lisa began to cold. "It's very disrespectful to ask people personal questions like th-"

Ed silenced her by holding up his hand. "It's okay, Lisa. I think Amanda's old enough to know."

"I don't!" Al protested. "Ed, she's _two!_"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Obviously I'm only gonna tell her the cool parts."

Amanda scooted her chair closer to Edward's. "Tell me! Tell me!"

Ed laughed and pulled her onto his lap. "Alright, alright. Well, when Al and I were younger, we were in an accident. There was an . . . _explosion _of sorts at our house, and I lost my arm and leg."

Amanda's eyes widened. "You can lose those? I thought they were attached!"

Al snorted. Lisa slapped the back of his head.

"Well, they are," Ed explained. "But you know the man who lives next to Wendy, with a peg leg?"

Amanda nodded. "It got blown up in the war."

Ed nodded. "Yeah, like that. So my friend, Winry, built me this new arm and leg, so I could still walk and do work."

"Ohh," Amanda said, as if she had finally understood something that she never could before. "That was nice of her."

Ed nodded. "_Very_ nice of her."

Amanda but her lip for a moment, as if she were thinking hard. She pointed to the small scar on Ed's forehead, above his right eye. "Is that from the explosion too?"

Ed shook his head. "No, this is from a different time I got hurt."

"Did your mommy kiss it better?" Amanda asked. "It's a big boo-boo."

Ed smiled sadly. "No, Mandy. By the time I got this boo-boo my mommy wasn't here anymore."

Amanda looked sad. "Al told me your mommy was in heaven . . . I'm sorry, Eddie."

"Hey, it's okay!" Ed told her, trying to sound upbeat.

"Yeah!" Al agreed. He was much better at the optimism thing than his brother. "Besides, we still have our memories."

"If you don't mind me asking," Lisa said cautiously. "Would you tell us more about her? I'd love to hear about the woman who raised you boys . . ."

Al smiled. "She was . . . Warm. She only ever saw the good in epople, no matter how bad they were. She devoted all her time to Ed and me . . ."

"She was a great mom," Ed agreed. "She always knew how to handle every problem we threw her way. Whenever we argued, she knew exactly how to makes us forgive each other. If we were ever injured or sad, she'd take care of us."

"What did she look like?" Roy asked. "I'm trying to picture this . . ."

Ed grinned. "A lot like Al, actually. But with darker hair and a woman's face and body, obviously."

"So then you must look like your father, Ed," Lisa inferred. "What was he like? Sorry for asking so many questions . . . It's just that we don't know much about where you boys came from."

"It's fine," Al told her. "And as for our dad . . . Well, quite honestly, I didn't really know him. He left when Ed and I were really little. He had his own reasons, he was really just trying to protect us."

Ed's hands clenched under the table. "Even thought he and I patched things up, I still can't help but resent him for everything he put us through as kids."

"I suppose that's understandable," Roy agreed. "My father died when I was young, and I always resented him for leaving my crippled mother alone with five kids. Some things just can't be helped."

For a moment, there was silence.

"Alright, boys," Lisa told them, her voice going back to it's normal strict tone. "I want you up early tomorrow so your chores will be done before nine. We're all going to visit Wendy after breakfast. So go up to bed now, so you can finish catching up on sleep."

Ed and Al nodded without complaint-for in truth, they both were rather tired. They cleaned off their plates in the kitchen and headed up stairs.

. . .

"Alright, Brother," Al said when they were safe in the confinement of their room. "You have to tell me now! How do we get home? You said you knew."

Ed nodded. "Well, I at least have a theory. Do you remember what Teacher taught us? About how we're just tiny parts of a whole?"

Al nodded. "Of course! One is all, and all is one."

Ed nodded. "Good, and when you connect all the tiny pieces, you end up with the universe. Nothing can exist without the balance of everything else."

"Okay . . ." Al still didn't really get where is brother was going.

"And do you remember what she told the little girl when her cat died?" Ed asked.

Al shook his head. "Ah, no . . ."

"She said something about how when people die, their souls live on in other hearts. There's a flow, and it involves everything in the world," Ed said. "And I was thinking . . . That's a lot like what Envy said, about inner gates leaving traces in other people."

Al gasped. "That makes sense! So inner gates and souls _are_ the same thing . . ."

"And another thing Teacher taught us," Ed continued. "About transmutation circles. 'The circle represents the circulation of power, and by drawing it, that power can be evoked.' And how do you channel this power?"

Al grinned. "Well that's easy; you draw an array on top of the circle."

And what Envy said, about connecting all the inner gates. What if he was talking about a transmutation circle in which the array is the people we're connecting?" Ed asked. "For example, we could connect Mustang to Winry because he killed her parents, and Winry to Gracia Hughes because they're friends. You see?"

Al nodded slowly. "I think so . . . But what would we use to signify each person?" Al asked.

"We could just write their names," Ed suggested. "Hmm . . ."

He opened his side table drawer and pulled out a pencil and paper. Along the edges of the circle he wrote the names of everyone significant to him and his brother that was in Amestris; dead or alive. When he was done, he drew lines connecting the names of people who knew and were somehow connected to each other. Once he was finished, he held it out for Al to see.

"The souls count as the points, so by using this transmutation circle, in theory, we should be able to connect everyone's inner gates and pull ourselves through. I think that's how the homunculi do it . . . They pull on their own souls from when they were human and that's what pulls them through."

"Brother, this is genius!" Al exclaimed. "By coursing energy thought our friends in this way, we might be able to open the gate _without_ a sacrifice!"

Ed scratched his head. "Really, it wasn't all that hard. I just had to remember whatever it was that I had done subconsciously at the hospital . . . And a lot of it was scattered around in Dad's notes."

"We'll need to put blood on it," Al said. "Just incase. It was your blood that opened the gate the first time, right? And Dad's the second? And even though this is a totally different method, the same principles could apply. Without the blood of an alchemist, we might be killed while we're traveling through."

Ed nodded. "Right, and we'll want to try this somewhere out of sight . . ."

"Behind the barn?" Al suggested. "You can't see back there from the bottom of the hill."

"Okay," Ed agreed. "But only if we're absolutely certain that this will work . . ."

"It will!" Al assured him. He pulled down his sheets and lay down, pulling them over him. "We'll tell the others tomorrow . . . We're going home."

. . .

"Noah, are you sure about this?" Lisa asked. It was the next morning at breakfast, after everyone had done their morning chores.

Noah smiled and nodded. "Oh yes. Ed and Al were always so much closer to Wendy than I was, and Lewis and Amanda really shouldn't be at the hospital, it's no place for little kids."

"I wanna go see Wendy, too!" Amanda complained.

Ed smiled sympathetically and ruffled her black mop. "Hey, Wendy will be out of the hospital real soon, and then you can go visit her whenever you want."

Mandy pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.

Al tilted his head as he watched her.

"Sometimes I forget she's only two," he said quietly to his brother.

Ed nodded in agreement. "She's well beyond her years. That's for sure."

. . .

Ed, Al, Roy, and Lisa quietly entered Wendy's room, in case she was sleeping.

She wasn't.

"You guys came!" she shouted excitedly. "I was getting so bored!"

Ed chuckled. "Calm down or you'll reopen your wounds."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "You try being stuck in a hospital for so long."

He rolled his eyes. "I have; _many_ times. It's no fun."

He and Al walked over to the wooden bench under the window and sat down; both of them expressionless.

Wendy watched them curiously. Something seemed off.

"Amanda, Noah and Lewis send their love," Lisa told her as she took a seat next to her husband in one of the chairs facing Wendy's bed.

"Where are they?" Wendy asked. She tried not to grimace when she spoke. She hid it well, but she was actually in a severe amount of pain.

"Noah thought it best to stay home with the kids," Lisa explained. "Hospitals really _are_ no place for children . . ."

"I supposed," Wendy agreed.

They were all silent for a few minutes. No one could think of something to say.

They spent the next half hour making awkward small chat, mostly between Roy, Lisa, and Wendy, but eventually that stopped too.

Wendy decided to talk with them separately. It'd be easier that way. Ed and Al first . . .

"Roy, Lisa, would you mind giving us a moment?" Wendy asked. "There's something the boys and I need to discuss."

"Not at all," Lisa said, rising to her feet. She and Roy walked out of the room and shut the door behind them.

When they were gone, Wendy turned to the Elrics. "Alright, spill. What's going on?"

Ed looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I can tell by the way you two keep looking down and avoiding eye contact. And you've been here a whole 30 minutes and have barely said a word. Normally, when people are nervous they tend to play with their hands, and Al hasn't put his down since you walked in. You're hiding something from me. Spill it."

"She's good," Al said to his brother.

Wendy smiled smugly. "Well, as Edward always told me, 'om te leren, moet meen eerst kijken, voelen, luisteren, proven en ruiken.'"

"What's it mean?" Al asked.

"I think it's just saying that before you learn something you have to look, feel, listen, smell, and taste. Use your senses and your instincts, I guess. Observe. It's just something his mother would tell him."

"Worte de Weisheit*," Ed complimented. "Edward was a smart guy."

"So?" Wendy asked. "Tell me then! What is it?"

Ed and Al looked at each other. Al nodded.

"Okay," Ed agreed. "But don't tell the others, alright? We want to surprise them."

"I promise!" Wendy exclaimed impatiently. "Now cut to the chase!"

"God, you're pushy . . ." Ed complained. He took a deep breath. "Al and I think we found a way back to our own world; our home."

Wendy's smile faded.

"Really?" she asked, her voice changing slightly. "That's . . . great."

"What's the matter, Wendy?" Al asked. "Isn't this a good thing? You sound depressed."

"No, n it's not that, it's just . . ." Wendy sighed. "There's something I need to tell you."

She sounded serious.

"What is it?" Ed asked.

Wendy smiled weakly. "I don't think I'm going to step outside this place ever again."

"Aw, come on," Ed told her. "Sure, it seems like that now, but it'll be better eventually."

Wendy shook her head. "Not from the accident . . . I'm sick, guys. And apparently I have been for a while."

"_Sick?"_ Al repeated. "Sick how?"

Wendy rubbed away the tears in her eye. "They say I have cancer."

"Cancer?" Ed and Al asked at the same time. The difference was, Ed was asking in disbelief, while Alphonse truly didn't know what it meant. They didn't have that disease in Amestris.

"Cancer is a severe illness in which _no one_ survives," Ed explained bitterly to his brother. "I've never heard of a cancer patient who lived for very long. People used to think it was caused by trauma, but not many doctors still follow that theory."

"You're gonna _die?"_ Al asked. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "No! You can't!"

Wendy smiled sadly. "No, don't worry about me. You found a way home, right? Think about that! Dying really isn't all that sad, I mean at least I know I've got people waiting for me on the other side."

Ed looked down to hide his face. He thought of the conversation he and Al had had at supper the night before. "Tell us about him. About Edward. We don't know much . . ."

Wendy sighed contently. "Where do I begin? Well, I'd say he's a lot like you, Ed. He didn't like to talk about his feelings and was very over-protective of his family and friends. He was like you too, Al; very sweet and kind-hearted. His mother grew fatally ill when we were small children. She tried to ignore it, but unfortunately, succumbed to the sickness when Edward was only eight. He went to live with Patricia after that, but he seemed . . . Different. Older, somehow. We still continued to hang out and be friends as we grew up, and eventually confessed our feelings for each other. We were to be married in August of the year he died, but never got the chance.

"I honestly don't think I'm so bothered by his passing anymore. It hurt a lot at first, and I still miss him more than you can imagine but . . . I think it's better this way. I had to watch him grow up; and that was hard. Together, we watched as our childhood innocence faded away and we became adults. Growing up is sad . . . I wouldn't want to see him grow old, too. This way I'll always remember him the way I'd like to . . . It's almost kind of happy."

She pulled on the chain around her neck until it broke loose. One the end of it was a heart-shaped locket. Wendy forced it open, revealing a small, folded piece of paper and a back-and-white photograph of Edward Matthews; smiling. She held it out for the brothers to see.

"What's that?" Al asked, pointing to the paper.

Wendy smiled and carefully unfolded it. "Hohenheim gave this to me at Edward's funeral. He said he had been instructed by my fiancé to give it to me if something were ever to happen to him."

"What does it say?" Al asked, leaning forward to get a closer look.

"The last words his mother ever told him. 'Tot we elkaar weer ontmoeten, voorbij deze plaats, mijn liefde. 'Until we meet again, beyond this place, my love.' He always liked that because it wasn't exactly a goodbye, more like an 'until next time'."

"Mijn liefde," Al repeated slowly. "That's sweet."

Wendy nodded, grasping the locket in her hands. "_He _was sweet . . . 'Wendy, mijn liefde,' he would always say. 'Someday we'll go to America, where the war isn't so bad. We won't have to worry about bombs, we'll be far, far away from Germany. And once it's over, we'll see Egypt, China, Australia even!' He wanted to see the world . . ."

"Would you like us to send Roy and Lisa in?" Ed asked, his voice level. He still wouldn't raise his head, though.

Wendy nodded. "Uh . . . Yeah. I should probably tell them, too."

Ed and Al rose from their seats and left the room. Roy and Lisa went in.

Al slumped his back against the wall in the hall way. "Poor, Wendy."

Ed slammed his fist against the doorframe. "This always happens! They always leave!"

. . .

***Worte de Weisheit - Words of Wisdom (German) **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer - I donut own Fullmetal Alchemist**

**Heh . . . Donut. **

**A/N - Sorry the beginning of this chapter is so slow, it was either a slow beginning and an exciting ending or just a filler chapter, and I figured as a reader you guys would prefer the former. Also, there is a little bit of family-type fluff, and I suck at fluffy-ness. So sorry in advance. **

. . .

**London, England**

**1926**

_She could be dead,_ a small voice in the back of Edward's head told him. _They all could be. _

_No, _he told himself. _Don't think about it like that. They aren't dead. They can't be._

_Teacher's dead,_ the voice reminded him. _And Wendy's going to die, so wouldn't it make sense that Winry would, too?"_

_No, they can't be dead. She can't be dead. _

While Ed continued his internal conflict, Alphonse began to absent mindedly doodle on a blank piece of paper.

He had wanted to tell Roy and Lisa about he and his brother's discovery right away. But, after wearing about Wendy, he doubted it was a good idea to say that he and Ed were leaving, too. Just in a different way.

There was a light tap on their door and Noah let herself in. "It's awfully quiet in here. What's up?"

"Roy and Lisa didn't tell you about Wendy, then?" Ed asked.

"Oh . . ." Noah's expression changed as she flopped down on Al's bed. "Yeah . . . That's so terrible of me to forget, I'm sorry."

"But . . ." Al began. He turned so he was facing her. "There is another thing on our minds."

"Which would be?" Noah asked.

"Al!" Ed exclaimed. "I thought we weren't telling anyone yet!"

"But, Brother! This is Noah, if we can't tell her at the least . . ."

Ed rolled his eyes. His little brother was just too damn soft.

"Brother and I have found a way back to Amestris. Back to our home!" Al told Noah, his excitement clear on his face.

Noah felt like she had been hit by a ton of bricks. She immediately morphed her initial expression of shock into a fake smile. "Well, that's great! You boys have been working so hard for so long . . . When do you plan to go?"

"Sunday," Ed replied.

"We'll tell Roy and Lisa at dinner," Al added.

Noah nodded. "Sounds like a plan! Now if you'll excuse, me I've got . . . A phone call, that I need to make . . ."

She felt in her apron pocket. It had been three years . . . Would they still remember her?

When she was out of the Elric's room, she pulled out the paper and read it a few times.

"I hope they haven't moved . . ." she muttered to herself.

. . .

"Al and I have an announcement!" Edward declared after everyone had sat down at the dinner table.

"Well then," Roy said, pretending to be interested. "Do share. Please."

Ed glared at him.

"Come on," Lisa told them. "He's just over tired. I'd love to hear your announcement."

Ed took a deep breath. "Al and I have found a way to get back to our own side of the gate. We're leaving Sunday."

Lisa and Roy's forks fell from their hands and clattered to the table. Amanda looked around, confused.

"W-what?" Roy asked. "Are you serious?"

Ed and Al both nodded.

Lisa rose unexpectedly from the table and walked out of the room. If Ed didn't know any better, he would have sworn he had seen a tear making it's way down her cheek.

"What's wrong with Mommy?" Amanda asked. Noah patted her shoulder.

"Sunday's only a week away," Roy told them. "Are you really so eager to be rid of us?"

"It's not that," Al told him. "If we had the choice, we'd probably offer to take you all with us; we really do consider you family. It's just that . .. Brother and I aren't from this world, and we don't belong in it."

"It was a mistake for us to have lived here," Ed said, as usual hiding his emotion from his face and voice. "Making emotional attachments to people hear was selfish and stupid. We appreciate you taking us in none the less."

"It was really no problem," Roy told them. "You certainly did you share around here. I'll be sad to see you go. Now I'll only have Noah for help around here."

"Actually . . ." Noah said. "I'm leaving, too."

"What?" Ed and Al asked in unison.

Noah nodded. "Tomorrow morning I'll be leaving for France. I'm going to go live with some of my own people. I feel that while traveling on my won I've lost touch with my culture. I promise to write as often as I can, and maybe even call once in a while."

Roy sighed. "Well, I suppose Lisa and I knew this day would come, we just never thought it'd be all three of you at once."

"What's going on?" Amanda asked. "I don't get it."

"Come on, Mandy, finish your dinner. I'll tuck you in tonight, okay?" Ed offered.

Mandy nodded excitedly. "Promise me a story?"

Ed nodded. "Whatever one you'd like."

. . .

The next morning, Lisa refused to leave her bedroom, even to bid Noah farewell.

Roy, Noah, Al and Ed (who was holding a half-asleep Amanda) stood at the bottom of the hill. Roy was helping Noah get her trunk into the back of the cab.

"Wha's goin' on?" Mandy asked with a yawn. Her eyes were half way closed.

Noah kissed the top of her head. "I'm going away for a little while, but I promise I'll come visit really soon, alright?"

Amanda nodded. "'Kay."

Noah then turned to Roy. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. "Give Lisa and the baby my love."

"I will," he promised.

Now she faced the Elrics. This was the last time she would ever see them, and she knew it. Tears formed in her eyes. "You boys . . ."

But she couldn't finish that sentence. For there were no words to describe her feelings.

Alphonse understood. He decided the best way to say it was by using three of the few German words he knew. "Wir lieben dich*, Noah."

Without warning, she flung her arms around both of them. "I'll miss you."

"Uh, yeah . . . We'll miss you, too," Edward replied awkwardly.

She released them both. Mandy rubbed her eyes and lay her head on Ed's chest.

Noah got into her cab. As it drove away, she stuck her head out the window and called, "you Elrics better not forget me!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Al shouted back with a grin. They turned and started up the hill.

Edward looked down at Amanda, who was now asleep in his arms.

_No,_ he thought. _Never look back, and never forget._

. . .

Edward and Alphonse spent the rest of the week visiting the rest all their friends in London to say goodbye.

As far as Patricia, the Andrews family, and Mrs. Williamson knew, the Elrics were moving to France to live with their cousins.

Their plan was that if another great war were to start (which at this point, everyone thought inevitable), Roy and Lisa were to tell everyone that Ed and Al had been called into service and were shot down by Nazi soldiers. They wrote Gracia and Hughes telling them the same thing. The only people left who knew the truth were Roy, Lisa, Wendy, and Amanda (although she didn't understand any of it).

"You'll visit, right?" Nina had asked them as they were walking out the front door of the Andrews home.

"We'll try," Ed lied.

She smiled. "Don't forget."

"_Don't worry, we'll come play with you again real soon," Al promised. _

"_Really?" the four-year-old asked._

"_Mhmm."_

"_Yeah," Ed agreed._

_She smiled. "Don't forget."_

_Don't forget .10_

Ed shook the memories from his head. He had to think clearly in order for this to work.

While Lisa gradually began spending more time outside her room, there had definitely been a change in her since the boys told her they were leaving. She somehow seemed more patient, and quieter. When she did speak, her voice was soft and sad.

To her, it had seemed like the day the Elrics walked out her door for the last time was forever away. But then, that time that was "forever away" had been given a name. Sunday.

And while no one likes goodbye, they must still happen. As must the passing of hours of the day and months of the year. In what seemed like no time at all, Sunday was apon them.

Ed and Al spent Sunday afternoon at the hospital with Patricia and Wendy.

"So, today's the day?" Patricia asked them. "You boys are really leaving?"

Ed nodded. "Thank you, Patricia. For everything. You've been so kind to us these last three years."

Patricia smiled weakly. "And there's nothing left at my house that you'll need?"

The boys shook their heads.

She sighed and pulled her coat over her shoulders. "I'd best be off. Errands to run. Best of luck, Elrics. Be sure to visit."

They nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

She gave them each one final squeeze before walking out of the hospital room.

"I hope you get home alright," Wendy told them once they were alone. "You know, without loss of limbs or severe amnesia."

Al nodded. "Yes, that _would_ be a nice turn of events, wouldn't it?"

Wendy giggled. She turned to Edward. "Will you do me a favor when you get back?"

Ed nodded. "Sure."

"This Winry girl you say is the other me? When you see her, kiss her. Trust me, she wants you to."

Ed's face turned bright red and he shook his head. "Winry and I are just friends . . ."

Wendy sighed. "You sound just like I did when I was a teenager . . . Someday, you'll learn."

Ed felt a shot of pain through his forehead.

_Ik hou van je, voor altijd, mijn liefde*. _

Edward Matthews had one final message for his fiancé, and Ed felt obligated to pass it on.

"Wendy?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"I've got a message for you. 'Ik hou van je, voor altijd, mijn liefde.'" Ed repeated.

Wendy gasped. "Edward . . ."

"We really should be going now," Ed told her. "Al and I are making Amestrian Stew tonight for Lisa, Mandy, and Roy. Good bye, Wendy."

Wendy held back her tears. "Bye Fullmetal Boy, bye Alphonse. I love you."

"I love you, too," they replied in unison.

. . .

"_Milk?"_ Lisa asked as she watched the boys prepare supper.

Ed nodded. "Yup. It's weird. It's got milk in it but it still tastes good."

Lisa shook her head. "Stew with milk in it . . . What are they doing in that universe?"

'You'll like it," Al told her. "We're following Aunt Pinako's recipe."

"From memory," Roy pointed out.

"Yeah, but we've watched her make it a thousand times, I'm sure we remember just fine," Al defended.

Ed, who hadn't bee paying attention, help up a measuring cup in the air and studied it. "Was it three cups of carrots or four? And did she use hot sauce or vanilla?"

Al buried his face in his palm and snatched the cup from his brother. "It was _two_ cups of carrots and _lemon juice_, Brother!" Al exclaimed.

Roy snickered.

. . .

**(Under) Dublith, Amestris**

**1920**

**(Earth Year - 1926)**

"Where we really _that_ savage?" Gluttony asked as he stared down at their newest addition. She almost looked like a real human. Just like all homunculi, she had purple eyes and black hair (other than Envy who could manipulate his appearance). Her build was petite, and her hair fell even with her shoulders.

"What will we call her?" Lust asked, leaning forward just a little to see her face better as she shoved more stones in her mouth.

"Hmm . . ." Envy thought a moment. The girls had been only 16 when she died. Her grades had been perfect, as had her social life. Her parents had been so _proud._ "She'll be called Pride."

Lisa smiled. "I wonder what her ability will be."

"Hopefully something more useful than memory washing . . ." Gluttony muttered.

Lust's eyes narrowed. "Don't make me kill you, Gluttony. You know how slow you are at regenerating."

Gluttony rolled his eyes.

"She's almost done," Envy told them. "Just a few more stones and she should be good."

They watched as Pride's form finished morphing from raw homunculus to a humanoid figure.

When she was done, she looked up at them with wide eyes. "Thank you!"

Envy laughed. "No problem_, Pride._ That's your name, by the way, in case you missed it. This is Lust and the other is Gluttony. I'm Envy."

"Envy, Lust, Gluttony and Pride . . ." the girl muttered. "Four of the seven deadly sins."

Envy nodded. "Very good. We still need Sloth, Wrath, and Greed, though."

"My question is still unanswered," Lust pointed out. "We still don't know what she can do. How do we know she can be of use to us?"

Pride thought a moment. What _could_ she do? After a moment, she was sure she had figured it out. She threw her hand up over her head, and following this motion was a long, thick, vine sprouting from the ground.

"The ability to control plants," Envy mused. "Well that one's knew. We haven't had a memory-washer since the original Sloth . . . Then new Sloth was a water creature . . ."

"We've been around for generations," Lust explained to Pride. "Always seven at a time. Over the years, we've lost some comrades. Envy was the first homunculus ever, and he intends to be the last."

. . .

Amanda stared down at her bowl of stew. "This looks funny."

Lisa and Roy didn't say anything, but it was clear that they agreed.

Ed and Al however had dug in. Their attempt was no where near as good as Pinako's but it was still okay.

"Try it," Ed told them with his mouth full. "It's delicious!"

Amanda bravely picked up her spoon and raised it to her lips. She gulped, then opened her mouth and let the stew pour onto her tongue.

For a moment, she was expressionless. Then, slowly, a smile cracked across her face. "Mmm!"

Roy and Lisa were shocked. They could hardly get Mandy to eat _normal_ food. The looked down at their own bowls. Hell, if their two-year-old could do it, they could do it.

"Well?" Al asked after they had each taken a bite.

"Surprisingly good . . ." Roy admitted. "You'll have to give Lisa the recipe."

Lisa nodded in agreement.

Ed gave them a cocky grin. "Sure thing."

. . .

After supper, Ed and Al headed straight outside. They had to draw out the transmutation circle before it got dark out.

Right as they were finishing up, Roy, Lisa, and Amanda came outside. Lisa was carrying Lewis in her arms. They had come to bid their farewells.

Al stood up, brushed off his pants, and walked over to them. He smiled at the baby and ruffled his hair.

Roy looked at their circle. "_This_ is how you're going to travel to another dimension?"

Ed nodded. "By connecting the people who know or are some how effected by one another, we can pull ourselves home."

Lisa pointed to the top of the circle. "'Winry Rockbell.' She's your best mate, isn't she?"

Al nodded. "She's really more like a sister . . ."

"She's the other Wendy, isn't she?" Roy asked.

Ed nodded, a little impressed. "How did you know?"

Roy shrugged nonchalantly. "Intuition."

Ed connected the final line ("Roy Mustang" to "Riza Hawkeye") and stood up. He joined his brother and the Stanleys. "That should do it."

Tears began to pour down Lisa's face, but her voice was even. "So, this is it then? Forever? No more Elric Brothers?"

Ed smiled sadly. "Come on Lisa, don't cry."

She reached into her apron and pulled something out. She handed it to Ed.

"The picture," she explained. "I forgot to give it to you. I want you to always remember us."

"How could we forget our family?" Al asked.

Amanda looked from her parents to the Elrics, her face confused. "What's going on?"

Ed crouched down to her height and looked her in the eye. "Al and I are leaving, Mand's."

"Well, when are you coming back?" Amanda asked.

Ed sighed. "We're not."

Tears formed in the toddler's eyes. "Never?"

Ed shook his head sadly. "Never."

"No!" she cried. "You're my big brothers! You're supposed to stay!"

Ed wrapped his arms around her little body. "I love you, Mandy."

"I love you, too, Eddie," she told him. "And you, too, Al."

"I love you, too, Mandy," Al said.

Ed released Mandy and stood up. Lisa wrapped the arm that wasn't holding Lewis around the two brothers. "You brothers are something else."

When they were released, they turned to Roy.

He held out his hand. "Boys, it's been fun."

The Elrics looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Simultaneously, they enveloped him in a very _manly _hug.

"We'll never be able to thank you enough," Al said.

Lisa shook her head. "No thanks necessary. And boys?"

"Yeah?" they both replied.

"We love you," Lisa told them.

Al smiled. "And we love you, even if we don't say it very often."

Ed took one last look at the picture before shoving it in his back pocket.

He and Al turned away from the Stanley family and began to walk towards the center of their circle.

"Don't leave!" Amanda yelled. She was sobbing nearly uncontrollably.

Roy picked up his daughter and followed after his wife as she retreated from the circle.

"NO!" Mandy screamed. "Don't go!"

When the family was a good twenty yards away, Ed pulled the knife he had concealed in his boot out, and made a thin slit on the back of his left hand. He let a few drops fall to the ground.

Together, he and his brother clapped their hands together and pressed down on the array.

From where they stood, the Stanleys watched as the Elric brothers were surrounded by bright blue light. It became so intense, that they had to shield their eyes.

When the light cleared, where the Elrics had been standing was nothing more but empty space. Even the giant circle was gone.

They hadn't left a trace.

. . .

**Central, Amestris**

**1920**

**(Earth Year - 1926)**

General Roy Mustang sat at his desk, staring off into space. Sometimes, work was just so damn _boring._

Suddenly, he felt a stabbing pain through his forehead. At the exact same time, Hawkeye (who had been standing in front of him) cried out in pain. Across the room, he watched as Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Furey all put their hands to their heads. They faces were contorted in pain.

"Damn my head," Havoc moaned.

"Mine too," Breda said. His eyes were shut tight.

Mustang wanted to think. Why had everyone suddenly developed a severe headache at the exact same time? But his head hurt to much to figure that out now . . .

. . .

**Resembool, Amestris**

Winry was standing behind her work bench when it hit her. If felt like someone had taken a sword and slashed her skull in half. The pain was too much. She slowly walked over to the couch and lay down.

Where was Granny? Would she know where to look if Winry blacked out?

Winry decided she didn't care. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. It must be due to stress . . . Surely.

. . .

**?**

Ed and Al once again stood in the all-white space.

At first, Alphonse thought it was the place from his nightmare. But then, he saw the giant gate and he understood.

His brother's plan had worked.

But that wasn't the only thing he noticed. Standing in front of the gate where two men. At first, Al couldn't make out their faces, but as they got closer, Al recognized one of them right away.

"Edward Matthews?" he asked.

The man nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Al. And _formally_ meet you, Ed."

But Ed wasn't looking at him. He was more focused on the other boy. "Alfons?"

"Nice to see you again," Alfons replied, a smile on his face. "It's been a while, huh, Ed?"

"W-what are you doing here?" Ed asked them.

"We just came out to say hello," Alfons explained. "And also goodbye."

"And to thank you," Edward Matthews added. "For looking after my Wendy for me. And for passing on my message to her."

Ed blushed a little. "No problem."

"You do realize that there's no turning back, right?" Alfons asked them. "Once you're back in Amestris, that's it. The people on our side don't have inner gates attached to their souls; you won't be able to use people like the Stanleys to pull yourselves back for a visit."

Ed nodded. "We know."

"Well then," Edward Matthews said. He stepped back and held his arms out towards the gate. "Step right up."

Al took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Let's do this, Brother."

Ed nodded and together, the Elric brothers stepped through the giant gate for the last time.

. . .

As the small black hands dragged the Elrics through the passage between worlds, they say images of the people and places they were leaving behind. They knew what would happen in their lives, they _saw_ it. Along with other things.

A few week after they left, Wendy would die in the hospital.

Noah had found the gypsy family in France, and they took her right in. Eventually, she would marry Dmitri's younger brother.

Just as Al had predicted, Nina Andrews would grow up and get married. She raised her children on the stories the Elrics had told her when she was young.

Lewis Stanley would grow up hearing theses same stories of his "brothers" and eventually follow in Ed's footsteps and become a rocket scientist.

Amanda never forgot the Elrics completely, and she dedicated her life to becoming a doctor so that she could help people the way they had. In her heart, she always felt that they would meet again, and she made it a point to tell her parents so often.

Lisa and Roy spent the rest of their long lives on their farm, living just as they had before the Elrics had entered their lives. Lisa kept a copy of Ed's birthday picture in a frame in her grandchildren's play room so she would never forget who used to live there.

The Hughes family was blessed with a beautiful ababy boy, whom they named Alfons Edward Hughes. And as they had promised, the read him stories from the Elric's book.

As everyone feared, another Great War _would_ come. And millions of innocent lives would be taken in a massacre called the Holocaust.

. . .

**Central, Amestris**

**1920**

Roy Mustang doubled over in pain as his migraine worsened without warning. Hawkeye gripped his desk, her clip board clattering to the floor.

_CLK! CLK!_

The noise of it hitting the floor drove everyone to thoughts of suicide. Anything to get rid of this pain . . .

And then, it was gone. Just as quickly as it had come, it left, leaving all of Mustang's team at ease.

"What the _hell_ was that about?" Havoc asked as he sat up. "That was _fucking_ painful!"

"Second Lieutenant!" Hawkeye scolded. "Language!"

Before Havoc had time to reply, he was cut off by a bright blue light springing out from the floor.

"W-what the hell? Breda asked as he climbed on top of his desk so that he'd be further away.

Mustang jumped to his feet. "That looks like alchemy!"

Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of screaming. Two voices, both male. It sounded as though they were falling _upwards._

The amount of light increased until it was too bright to see anything. Seconds later, it cleared all together, leaving two boys in it's place.

"Ugh," the first one moaned. "That didn't feel good."

"Brother, did you see that last image? How horrible! All the Jewish people . . . It was just like Ishbal . . ."

They both looked up to find six, open - mouthed soldiers staring at them with wide eyes.

"Mustang's office?" Ed asked, talking more to himself. "Well, I guess it makes sense since we were coming from his house . . ."

"E-Edward?" Mustang asked in disbelief.

Ed stood up and brushed himself off. "Good to see you, General. If you're still a General that is . . . I guess I've been kinda out of the loop these past five years, huh?"

Mustang nodded slowly. "Yes, b-but you . . . And I . . . I closed it! The gate was . . . I closed it!"

Ed nodded. "Yup, you did. And we closed it on the other side. We took the back door here . . ."

. . .

After Ed and Al told their story, the room was silent.

"This is unbelievable," Mustang said. "To think that there are parallel universes where different kinds of science rule . . ."

"They're working on sending men into space?" Hawkeye asked. "That seems so impossible . . ."

Ed shook his head. "It really isn't though! Now that I'm back, I'd be happy to teach others how rocket science works. Maybe we'll have spacemen in this world too."

"Hold it, Fullmetal," Mustang commanded. "You say you met parallel versions of people who live here while you were over there. Care to explain more on that?"

"Well, just as I said before," Ed told him. "The doubles were almost exact copies, and their relationships with people appeared to be the same in a non-blood related way."

"For example," Al said. "The doubles of Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are married on the other side of the gate, but they don't have a daughter. And Officer Hughes's best friend was the other you, General."

Ed motioned for his brother to be quiet but it was too late.

"Oh, so you met the other me then?" Mustang asked, grinning. "Was he powerful? Successful? Head of the country?"

"Actually, he had nothing to do with the government. He was a married farmer with two kids," Ed admitted.

Mustang's ego shrank a significant amount in that moment, and for as long as he lived it would never completely recover. "A f-farmer? A _married_ farmer?"

Ed grinned at the General's displeasure. "Yes, Sir. With two adorable children."

"Married with children . . ." Mustang muttered sadly.

"Please tell us who his wife was!" Havoc begged.

"Yeah because if stuff like that matches up here, we wanna meet her!" Furey agreed.

"And warn her," Breda added.

Al glanced at Hawkeye from the corner of his eye "Nah, some things are better left a mystery, I think."

"What about your own doppelgangers?" Falman asked. "Did you ever meet them?"

"Uh . . ."

"Well, sort of at the gate-"

"And I had already met Al's but-"

"_What?"_ Mustang asked impatiently. "Stop mumbling and just give a straight answer!"

Ed sighed. "The other Edward was killed during the first great war, and Al's double was murdered the night we sealed the gates three years ago."

Hawkeye's eyes widened. "They're _both_ dead?"

"Coincidentally, they died at almost the exact same time we crossed the gate for the first time, although we're not sure if that had anything to do with it," Ed added.

"Oh . . ." Al's eyes twinkled evilly. "_And_ I almost forgot to mention; the other Brother's fiancé helped us out _so _much while we were there . . ."

Ed turned bright red as Mustang's entire team began to laugh. Even Hawkeye hid her mouth behind her hand.

"Come on now," Breda said. "You at least gotta tell us who _Ed's_ gonna marry!"

"We must do no such thing!" Ed exclaimed before Al could say anything else.

"They had nicknames for each other, too," Al continued.

Mustang nearly fell out of his chair he was laughing so hard. "_Pet-names?"_

Alphonse nodded. "He called her 'Mijn Liefde' which means 'My Love' in Dutch."

"Awww," Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Furey chorused mockingly.

Mustang's face hardened though. "_Dutch?"_

The word felt strange on his tongue.

"Yeah, it's one of the languages on the other side," Ed told him. "No one their speaks Amestrian. The closest thing is English, but even then there are many differences."

"And you speak these languages?" Mustang asked.

"Well, we both know English, and I know German. Al picked up a little French from the other Mustang's wife, and we both know a little Dutch from what Wendy taught us," Ed replied.

"Oh so her name is Wendy?" Havoc teased. "Is she pretty?"

Ed clenched his metal fist. He probably would have socked Havoc right then and there, but something else caught his attention. "Oh yeah, I'm going to need a train to Resembool as soon as possible. I've outgrown my automail by a _lot."_

"That's impossible," Mustang replied. "No one can know that you're back yet. Envy has been gathering up more homunculi, and I suspect that they're after _you_, Fullmetal."

Ed held out his left leg. "THERE IS A STUMP OF WOOD IN MY BOOT AND I'M STILL WALKING LOP SIDED! I NEED NEW AUTOMAIL!"

"So I guess you finally grew, huh?" Havoc observed, noticing for the first time that the Elder brother was at least at equal height with Mustang.

Ed glared at him. "_Finally? I WAS NOT SHORT!"_

"Come on, Ed, you can admit it now. You were pretty short," Breda told him.

"I WAS NOT!"

"Brother, it's okay. Lot's of people start out small but they get bigger as they grow-"

"SHUT UP AL I WAS NOT SHORT!"

Furey tapped Ed's shoulder and held a finger to his lips.

"Hmm . . ." they could all practically see the gears in Mustang's head turning. After a moment, he spoke. "Envy's not exactly making it hard to track him. I mean, for someone who can change their appearance in the blink of an eye, there have been an awful lot of sightings. Almost like it's being done on purpose."

"He's trying to get us to go after him," Ed concluded. "So he can get his revenge without having to worry about facing the military."

Mustang nodded. "So, I've come up with a plan-"

"Of _course_ he has," Ed interrupted.

"-if Envy thinks that you and Alphonse are dead, he won't go looking for you, right?"

"Well, I guess not," Ed agreed. "But how are we gonna make him think we're dead?"

"Easy," Mustang replied. "You say your arm and leg are too small?"

. . .

**Resembool, Amestris**

**1920**

Winry woke up from her nap feeling refreshed. Her headache was gone and she was ready to get back to work.

As she rose from the couch, the phone began to ring. She walked across the room and picked it up. "Hello?"

"W-Winry?" a shaky voice asked.

"Sheska?" Winry asked, recognizing her friend. "Are you alright? You sound kinda funny."

"I-I'm fine." Clearly a lie. "Oh Winry it's just that there's been an earthquake here in Central. There's a big ditch in the ground from where it originated. No one knows what to make of it. They think it might have actually been some type of explosion."

"Well, that's strange," Winry said.

"Uh-yes, but the reason I'm calling is that in the center of the ditch they found two badly burnt human bodies. It looks as though they were in the middle of the explosion when it happened, and there's no way to identify them."

"So why are you calling me?" Winry asked.

"W-w-well one of the bodies has automail limps that aren't too badly damaged. We think it's-we think it might be something of yours. I was told to have you sent to Central to try and ID the mechanics."

Now Winry knew why Sheska was upset. "We think it might be something of yours" was just code for "we think it's Ed and Al" and Winry knew it. But Sheska was trying to protect her. Besides, she shouldn't just jump to conclusions.

"S-sure, Sheska, I'll hop on the next train."

. . .

**Wir lieben dich - We love you**

**Ik hou van je, voor altijd, mijn liefde - I love you, forever, my love**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer - I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist **

. . .

**Somewhere, Amestris**

**1920**

"Ugh," Ed groaned. "Where the hell are we?"

Alphonse shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not exactly sure. We're still about a week's walk away from Resembool."

"Damn, Mustang," Ed complained as he swatted a large branch from his path.

Mustang had made it very clear that going on a train would ruin their top secret plan to convince everyone that the Elrics were dead. Edward's face was just too recognizable.

So, instead of having the Elrics travel in disguise, he had decided it would just be easier to make them _walk_ all the way home to Resembool, through the forests and back roads.

"Takes my automail . . . Makes me walk from Central to Resembool . . ." Ed continued to complain under his breath. "What a bastard."

Al couldn't help but agree. "He _was_ a little harsh for making us walk. I mean, it's probably just pay back anyway. For us telling everyone that Roy Stanley is a farmer.."

"Twisted pyro . . ." Ed murmured. He stumbled slightly, and would have fallen if his brother hadn't grabbed his left arm. "Thanks, Al."

Edward knelt down on the ground and used his left hand - for his right was still in Central with Mustang, being attached to a fake dead body - and rolled up his left pant leg, revealing his substitute prothstetic. "I hate fake legs that aren't automail . . . They're hard to walk on."

"I wonder if Mustang was serious about putting your automail on a fake body," Al said.

"Of course he was," Ed replied. "They need the body to look like me, right? And once Winry tells everyone it's her automail, they'll release an official statement saying that it's me, and that we're both dead."

Ed stood up and they began walking again.

Al stared at the ground. "I just feel bad about making Winry think we're dead. Why couldn't Mustang just tell her the truth beforehand?"

Ed sighed. "She'll be asked to stand before a jury or the Fuhrer at least, and say that she is convinced the 'bodies' found are us. If she knows the truth, then her saying that would be a lie."

"So?" Al asked. "I mean, I get that lying in court is bad, but when all this is over and everyone finds out that we're still alive, won't Mustang be able to fix everything so she doesn't get in trouble?"

Edward shrugged. "He probably could, but I'd rather Winry have as little to do with this plan as possible. Besides, like Mustang said; the more genuine her reaction, the easier the jury will believe her. If everything goes according to plan, Winry's train shouldn't get into Ventral until tomorrow. She'll probably spend two or three days there, then a three-day train ride home. That gives us about six days to beat her to Resembool and explain everything the second she walks through the front door."

Al's expression turned to one of fear, and he began to shake a little. "When she kinds out we're alive, she's gonna kill us . . ."

. . .

**Central, Amestris**

Winry sighed as she stepped off the train. She had made the impulsive decision to leave Resembool a day early without first consulting anyone, so, naturally, there was no one there waiting for her.

"I really should have thought this through more," she mumbled to herself as she wandered aimlessly around the station.

She thought about going to visit the Hughes family, but decided against it. They would want to know what she was doing in Central . . . And she didn't have the heart to explain it to them.

"Huh! Winry!" a familiar voice exclaimed. She turned around and caught sight of her old friend, Denny Bloch. He was running towards her.

She smiled. "Afternoon, Sergeant."

"What are you doing here?" he asked her. He was dressed formally in his soldiers uniform.

She giggled. "I'd like to ask you the same question. I'm here because Mustang needed me to . . . Uh . . ."

He slapped his hand to his forehead. "Of course! How could I forget, they found a body - or, rather two. Hey I'm really sorry, it totally slipped my mind that they would call you down here."

She shrugged. "Don't sweat it, nothing's been confirmed yet, right?"

He nodded. "Well, I guess that's one way to look at it. Lieutenant Ross is taking it pretty hard . . . She's always had a soft spot for those boys."

Winry smiled sadly. "Yeah, I think everyone did. But anyway, you never answered me. What are you doing here?"

"Standard patrol," he replied. "Since the bombing - or what they think was a bombing, they actually haven't found a source yet - they've tightened up on security, you know?"

Winry nodded. "Well it was nice seeing you again, after all this time. I should be getting to Mustang's office though."

He waved as she walked away. "Take care of yourself, Winry! And fingers crossed!"

. . .

Mustang's eyes snapped open when he heard the light tap on his door. Everyone else was at lunch, but he had _so much_ paperwork! He had barely slept the night before, and found himself continuously dosing off. "Come in."

A small blonde girl the General recognized as Winry Rockbell entered.

"Miss Rockbell," he greeted. "You're a day early."

She nodded once. "I need to get this over with."

Mustang rose from his chair. "Very well . . . Let's go."

. . .

**(Under) Dublith, Amestris**

Pride watched as Envy paced the floor. He was muttering angrily about some boys named "Elric."

"I don't get it," the girl said. "Who are these people that Envy dislikes so much?"

"The Elric Brothers," Lust told her in a hushed voice, so not to upset Envy any further. "Five years ago, they Elrics destroyed all the other homunculi. Envy was lucky to escape with his life. They are no more than foolish humans, who took down the homunculi for no good reason."

"Ever wonder if they _did_ have a reason?" Gluttony asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" Pride asked.

He looked up to make sure Envy wasn't paying attention before replying, "Well, I mean they must have had _some _motivation, right? And didn't you ever wonder why the military wants to capture Envy? When we're on the surface, all I ever hear is good things about the Elrics. Ever wonder that maybe _we're_ the bad guys?"

Lust sighed. "In a war, there are no bad guys. Just equally justified sides. You're right, Gluttony, the Elrics must have had some reason. But in this war, _they_ are _our_ enemies."

"Why do they hate homunculi so much?" Pride whispered. Her childlike innocence was clear on her face; she had never fought a war with anyone.

Lust shrugged. "Who knows? Perhaps the fact that we don't have souls or can't die - easily anyway - unnerved them. Or maybe in defeating the others, they had something to gain."

"Well, you've heard the stories about the old Lust, right?" Gluttony asked, chuckling. He was perched on top of the book case with one leg folded up to his chest.

Lust glared at him, daring him to continue.

"No," Pride replied, missing the signal. "What stories?"

Gluttony jumped down from the book case and landed with a huff on his feet. "Well, she was a traitor. Killed by Wrath after she had made an alliance with the Elric brothers because they said they'd make her _human _with the power of the Philosopher's Stone! We can only anticipate that New Lust will do the same thing . . ."

"Shut up!" Lust hissed at him. Envy still wasn't paying them any mind, so she was on her own. "I'm _nothing_ like her!"

"I dunno," Gluttony mocked, shrugging. He turned away from her to hide his grin. "I mean she was _Old_ Lust, and you're _New_ Lust."

"Just because we have the same name does not mean we have the same fate!" Lust cried. "I would never want to be human! I'm my own person!"

Pride looked down at her feet.

"Please," Gluttony said. "It's only a matter of time before we'll have to get rid of you."

Lust lunged at him. "Bastard! Wait 'til I get my hands on you!"

Envy stopped pacing and looked up. He took a deep breath and made his voice calm. "Now, now. Siblings shouldn't fight."

He grabbed Lust from around her waist and pulled her off Gluttony, who was left lying on the floor.

Gluttony stood up, blood dripping down his face. He snapped his nose back into its proper position. "Yeah, _sis._ Jeez, I was just teasing."

Lust hissed at him as she tried to break free from Envy's grip.

Pride spoke in a soothing voice. "Lust, just calm down. Gluttony was just kidding!"

"Stay out of things that don't concern you!" Lust snapped. "Envy, I demand that you release me!"

"You're all better pull it together," Envy told them. "we're leaving for Western City tomorrow morning."

Lust stopped struggling. "New additions?"

Envy nodded. "And this time we don't even need to trick anyone. Some idiot tried it all on his own . . . We just have to go clean up his mess before anyone else gets there first."

. . .

**Central, Amestris**

Winry took a deep breath.

"Are you ready?" Mustang asked gently. "You don't have to do this now, if you don't want to."

She shook her head. "I need to know . . ."

Mustang nodded and opened the car door. "Then follow me, Miss Rockbell."

She slid out of the backseat after him, and found herself standing in front of a large, white building. A large sign outside read; "Central City Morgue."

"I'll wait here," Hawkeye told them from the passenger-seat window. "Keep our driver company."

Havoc grinned from behind the wheel. "Yeah, and dontcha just _love_ how Mustang _never_ drives his own car? He always makes one of us do it!"

"Shut up," Mustang told him. "I drive myself to and from work everyday, thank you very much. Now, we'll be back soon. Try not to kill each other in my abscess."

Winry followed up the five steps that led to the front doors of the morgue.

Once inside, they were greeted by a tall man dressed in a black suit. He was middle-aged, and wore thick glasses. "Ah, General Mustang, we've been waiting. The Fuhrer is already here, although you last minute call did come as a bit of a shock to all of us. This meeting wasn't supposed to be until tomorrow, if you'll recall."

Mustang nodded. "Yes, and as I said on the phone, I am very sorry for that. Miss Rockbell arrived earlier than planned."

He gestured to Winry, who had been attempting to hide behind him.

The man held out his hand to her. "Welcome, Miss Rockbell. My name is Antoni Sujoc. But most people tend to have trouble with my name, so you may address me as Mr. Suji, or even Ant if you're prefer."

Winry shook his hand. "Hello."

"Mr. Sujoc is the mortician for the two bodies that we found," Mustang explained. "He's been doing his best to preserve them for our identification process."

Mr. Suji nodded. "Oh, yes. And let me tell you, it has not been easy. Normally when we receive bodies like this, we chuck 'em right into the furnace and send the ashes back home! But not this time. They've been placed in a giant refrigerator, and I've had to keep round-the-clock watch on the thermometer so they don't totally freeze over or completely thaw out!"

He chuckled. Mr. Suji was clearly a kind man in the wrong line of work.

"Shockingly, this is making me feel any better," Winry muttered sarcastically to herself as the color drained from her face.

Mustang heard her and decided it would be better to get this over with so the poor girl could just go home. "Let's not keep the Fuhrer waiting any longer, alright?"

Mr. Suji nodded and led them through the lobby and down a long hall way. As they walked, he filled them in on the details of the situation. "We've identified the older one as between 20 and 25, and the younger one at about 18, give or take a few months."

_Ed's twenty-one,_ Winry thought. _And Al's body would look about 17 . . ._

"Amazingly, whatever the explosion was caused by couldn't have been more than a few feet away at the time of their death. We assume it wasn't a suicide bombing, considering they were the only casualties. Most likely people who were just too curious and approached the bomb just as it was set off," Mr. Suji continued. "We've tried checking dental records, but there wasn't much to work with. We couldn't get anything from them. That's why you're here, Miss Rockbell."

"The automail really survived it?" Winry asked. She ran through her knowledge of the fire-resistance in the metals she and Granny used. She concluded that it was fairly possible.

Mr. Suji nodded. "Yes, it's quite amazing. Whoever designed it was quite the engineer."

Normally, Winry enjoyed praise, but now she was desperately hoping it wasn't intended for her. _Don't let it be my automail, please._

They reached they end of the hall. In front of them was a large white door. Mr. Suji used his key to unlock it and let Winry and Mustang enter.

In the middle of the room where two tables with white blankets pulled over them. Under the blankets were human-shaped lumps. Winry suddenly became rather light-headed.

On the far side of the room were three men, dressed in military uniforms. Mustang recognized the one in the middle as the Fuhrer.

"The metal was melted into the body," Mr. Suji explained with a tone of remorse. "So we were unable to detach it from the body without damaging it further. I'm sorry but you're going to have to look at . . . _him. _It's rather gruesome, if you would rather not I-"

"No," Winry interrupted without thinking. "I'll be fine."

But she wouldn't be fine, and she knew it.

Mr. Suji grabbed hold of the blanket and began to pull it back from the body. To Winry, it felt like hours before the corpse was finally visible.

She nearly passed out. Mustang grabbed hold of her arm as she swayed slightly. She cleared her throat and stepped forward.

What had probably once been a human body was now nothing but a black, human-shaped pile of burnt up flesh and bones. In some places, the flesh had been completely burnt off, and you could see the charred insides.

On the right side of it's body, metal had been attached to the shoulder, just like all automail. The difference with this case was, the metal closest to the body had been melted and mixed with the remaining flesh. Winry hopped that whoever this was had been dead long before the automail morphed with his skin. She couldn't even imagine how painful that would be.

Slowly, she reached out to touch the half-destroyed mechanical arm. There was only one way to tell for sure if it were Ed's. She had added extra metal to the upper part of the mechanism so he would be able to turn it into a blade without thinning it too much. As far as she knew, no one else had ever tried that design.

She gently flipped the arm over and examined it.

_No . . ._

She sunk to her knees on the cold tile floor. Hot tears were already running down her cheeks.

It was him. It was Edward.

Meaning the other was Alphonse.

They were gone.

. . .

**Somewhere, Amestris**

"Brother, I'm tired," Al complained. "We haven't slept in over twenty-four hours! Could we _please_ make camp for the night?"

The fact that Al was actually voicing his complaints should have been persuasive enough for the older brother to agree for a rest stop.

It wasn't.

"Al, we've got to get to Aunt Pinako's before Winry!" Edward reminded his brother. "We've still got another five or six days of walking and a train from Central is only _three days."_

"But, Brother! Winry won't even be in Central until tomorrow!" Al continued, unaware that Winry had left a day early.

Ed sighed. "We'll walk for twenty more minutes, deal?"

Alphonse nodded happily. "Okay, Brother!"

. . .

**Central, Amestris**

The next morning, Winry stood in the Fuhrer's office, accompanied by Hawkeye, Mustang, and the Fuhrer himself.

He placed two pieces of paper in front of Winry. They both read "Death Certificate". One for Ed and one for Al.

Bothe pieces of paper were nearly identical. Winry had never seen a Central Death Certificate, but it was only slightly different from the ones they used in the East.

_Full Name: Edward Elric_

_Place of Death: Central City, Amestris_

_Place of Birth: Resembool, Amestris_

_Mother's Maiden Name: Trisha Elric_

_Father's Name: N/A_

_Place of Residence: N/A_

_Date of Birth: 11 February, 1899_

_Date of Death: ? March, 1920_

_Cause of Death: Triggered explosives_

_Spouse: N/A_

_Descendants: N/A_

_Age at Death: 21_

_Race: Amestrian_

_Occupation: State Alchemist_

_Witness:__

"Please sign as the witness, Miss Rockbell," the Fuhrer said. His tone was completely indifferent, and that made Winry angry.

She did as he asked for both Edward and Alphonse. She then bid the Fuhrer good day and followed Mustang and Hawkeye out of the office.

Winry hadn't noticed it, but she was crying.

She thought of all the sections marked "N/A" on the Elrics' death certificates. _Place of Residence, Spouse, Descendants, _and for Al's _Occupation._ It just didn't seem right that they had ended their lives without being able to fill in all those empty spaces. Winry didn't understand why their father's name hadn't been written in, but didn't really care. It was more concerning for her that they had no home, no family, no job . . . It wasn't fair!

Winry's tears were falling faster now. She looked up at Mustang, who remained stone faced. She stopped walking.

Mustang turned around when he realized. "Miss Rockbell are alr-"

"You take everyone away from me!" Winry shouted at him.

He stared at her blankly for a moment. Hawkeye opened her mouth to say something, but Winry didn't five her the chance.

"You killed my parents and got Ed involved in the military when he was just a kid! And now, as we're here signing his _fucking Death Certificate, _YOU CAN'T EVEN SHED A SINGLE TEAR?"

Mustang dropped the formality. He grabbed her shoulder. "Winry, I-"

"Save it!" she yelled. She broke away from his frip and ran. Down the hall, out the door, and onto the street. She didn't know where she was going, she just let her legs take control. She needed to get away . . .

When her feet finally stopped, she found herself standing in front of the apartment of the Hughes family.

She didn't remember entering the building, or going up the four flights of stairs, yet here she was.

Slowly, she extended her arm and knocked on the door.

Moments later, it swung open revealing nine-year-old Elysia Hughes. "Sissy! Hey . . . Are you alright? You're crying!"

Winry tried to keep her voice level. "Hey, Elysia, is your mom around?"

Gracia stepped into the doorway with a smile, but it turned into a look of concern when she saw Winry's face. "Winry, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Winry sniffled. "It's Ed and Al . . ."

Gracia's eyes grew. "What? Come in, let's go sit down . . ."

Winry entered the cozy apartment where she always stayed when traveling to Central. It was funny, because until the first time she had stayed at their house, she had never met the Hughes'.

They went into the living room and sat down.

"Now," Gracia said. "Tell me what's happened"

Winry told them everything up to the point where she signed the death certificates, crying the entire time.

Gracia was speechless. Elysia, however, was confused. "Wait . . . I don't get it. Who are the Elrics?"

"Well, I doubt you'd remember Edward," Winry told her. "Yu were only four the last time you saw him. But surely you remember Alphonse? He would always come by with me to bring apple pies."

Elysia thought a moment. "Yes, that does sound familiar. Oh my goodness, Winry, that's so terrible! I'm so sorry for your loss . . ."

Winry gave her a sad smile. "You know you and Ed have the same birthday? He even helped deliver you. Well . . . Sorta."

Gracia nodded. "That's right. The Elrics along with that sweet little Nina Tucker . . . Oh, my. I never thought that I'd see all three of them . . . And Maes as well . . ."

She began to cry, and excused herself the to the bathroom.

"So these brothers . . . They knew my daddy?" Elysia asked.

Winry nodded. "Your dad was always so kind to them. You know he invited me to stay with you guys without even knowing me just because I was friends with Ed and Al . . ."

"In all honesty, I don't really remember him that well," Elysia admitted. "But I do have one memory that's clear as crystal. My mother and I had gone to pick him up from work, and I saw him walking out of the building with a blond boy who looked about fourteen, and a man in a suit of armor. I was only about two, but for some reason it's my best memory. I can recall it better than anything else."

Winry said nothing. She tried to let that sink in.

"It was them he was walking with, right?" Elysia asked. "The Elric brothers?"

Winry nodded. "Yeah . . . The Elric brothers."

. . .

Mustang watched as Winry Rockbell slowly approached his desk. It had been nearly two hours since she had run away from the Fuhrer's office. He had been wondering when she would show up.

"Ah, Miss Rockbell," he greeted.

"I'm sorry," she said in a small voice. "I shouldn't have shouted at you. I know Ed and Al's deaths weren't your fault, and I know you were ordered to kill my parents. There are still some things I don't understand . . . Like where the Elrics had been, and how they got back. But it doesn't matter now. Because what's done is done."

She sounded so . . . Broken. Defeated. Mustang wanted so badly to tell her the truth. That the Elrics were really still alive. "Winry, listen-"

"It's okay," she told him. "I just come up to say goodbye. My train leaves for Resembool in fifteen minutes."

"What?" Mustang asked. "But you just got here yesterday! Now you're leaving?"

Winry nodded. "I've got two legs that work, it's time I used them to move forward."

Hawkeye sighed from her signature position behind Mustang's desk. "Does your grandmother know that you're heading home?"

Winry shook her head. "It doesn't matter, anyway. She's in Rush Valley for the automail expo. Normally, I would go, but this specific exposition only happens one every twenty years, and Granny really wanted to go for some reason."

"So your going to be all by yourself?" Mustang asked, concern oozing into his voice.

Winry giggled a little. "General Mustang, I'm almost twenty-one-years-old. I think I can handle being home along for a week."

Mustang grinned. "Silly me. Here I was thinking that you were still just a kid. I guess I'll never really be able to wrap my mind around the fact that you aren't the terrified eleven-year-old I met ten years ago in Resembool with a limbless boy and an empty tin can for best friends."

Winry smiled back. "It's okay. I don't think I ever will either."

. . .

**Somewhere, Amestris**

**The Next Day**

"Don't you think it's risky?" Alphonse asked his brother as they made their way through the crowds of people. "Being out in the open like this?"

Ed shrugged. "It's only to grab a newspaper and jet back to the woods. I'm not even sure where they hell we are, so it'd be nice to grab a map."

"We're right outside East City," Al said knowingly. "I recognize this place from the years I spent looking for you. We're about a four day walk from Resembool."

"We need to cut that time in half," Ed told him. "We gotta beat Winry home."

Al maneuvered his way over to the side of the road. There was a small newspaper stand.

Ed checked that his hood was pulled all the way up before fishing some coins out of his pockets and dropping them in the man's hand. Then he grabbed a paper and ran off towards the forest, Al following close behind.

When they reached the cover of the trees, Ed pulled the rubber band from around the newspaper off and unrolled it. He and Al leaned up against a large tree trunk and read the headline.

_Youngest State Alchemist in History Found Dead_

_Six days ago, Central City was rocked by a small scale Earthquake. Investigators traced the source of the quake to a large crater in the middle of a back road, where they suspect a bomb was set off. In the center of this crater, two badly burnt bodies were found. Yesterday, they were identified as the 'Fullmetal Alchemist' or 'Alchemist of the People', Edward Elric and his younger brother Alphonse._

"_Yesterday?_" Ed asked. "Winry shouldn't have been in Central yet."

"Maybe her train got in early," Al suggested.

Ed grimaced. "We're really gonna have to pick up the pace now."

The brothers continued reading.

_While the bodies were too badly disfigured to tell who they were at first, Elric could be identified by his signature automail right arm and left leg-_

Ed rubbed the empty automail port on his right shoulder. Having one arm sucked.

_-custom made for him by childhood friend, Winry Rockbell. After identifying the bodies, however, she tearfully refused to answer any questions. The boys obituaries can be seen on page 6._

"Cool they wrote us obituaries!" Al exclaimed. "I've always wondered what people would say about me when I died!"

He grabbed the newspaper from his brother and began flipping through the pages to find page six.

Ed, however, was still caught on one word from the main article. _Tearfully._ He had made Winry cry? Even after all this time? Was he really surprised? They were best friends after all, but . . . Perhaps somewhere deep down he had always assumed that she had just moved on from him and Al. Maybe she was even happy they were gone, all they ever did was cause trouble. He hadn't thought that she would actually cry in front of people . . . That was one thing Winry always tried to avoid.

"Hey, I found it!" Al proclaimed happily. But his face fell when he saw who had written it. "'Alex Luis Armstrong' . . ."

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me?" Ed snatched the paper from his brother and began to read out loud. "'Edward Elric was not only a talented alchemist, but also a great man and friend.' Damn straight! I put up with you, didn't I? 'Everything he did, every action he made, was in favor of those around him, never himself.' Armstrong's still corny as ever, then . . . 'Although his height was small-' ANYONE'S SHORT COMPARED TO YOU, YOU FUCKING GIANT! '-he made up for it with the size of his heart. It's no wonder he was the favored State Alchemist among other people.' In other words, I'm the only one of the military's dogs that actually gives a shit about the public. 'His death is a tragic loss' blah, blah, blah . . ."

"Let me see mine!" Al whined, reaching for the newspaper. Ed let him take it.

"'Alphonse Elric.'" Al read. "'was a very kind and compassionate soul.' Hey! That's not funny!"

Ed snickered. Al whacked the back of his head and continued reading. "'While most thought it strange that he spent four years obsessively living in a suit of armor, never taking it off even to eat,' What the hell? 'those who knew him well enough knew his reasoning was noble. He had a kind heart, and was willing to reach out a hand to anyone they met. Whether it be a wanted criminal, a rabid cat, or even an exiled Ishballan.' He's making me sound creepy! 'His death was premature and he will be greatly missed.' Great, you get 'good friend, selfless attitude, favorite of the people, and tragic loss' I hget 'creepy armored soul-kid who will be missed!'"

Ed couldn't help but laugh at his brother's misfortune. "At least he didn't call _you_ short . . ."

. . .

**Central, Amestris**

Winry watched out the window of the train as the crowded streets of Central flew by.

"Paper, miss?"

She looked up to see a small dark-haired boy around the age of twelve standing in front of her, holding a stack of papers. He had big, puppy dog eyes. He kind of reminded Winry of Al, so she bought one.

When she read the headline, she felt like screaming. She just couldn't get away from this. She threw it down on the seat, tears stinging her eyes.

"'Youngest State Alchemist in History Found Dead?'" a deep voice read. It was the man sitting across from Winry. "Ma'am, may I?"

She nodded and watched as he picked up the newspaper and began reading.

"You don't think they mean Ed, do you?" the kid who was with him asked. He looked around 15 or 16.

The man - who looked around Winry's age - nodded solemnly. "And Al as well . . ."

The young boys eyes filled with tears. "No!"

"Come on Fletcher," the older one snapped. "They've both been missing for years. We knew it was coming . . ."

Something clicked in Winry's brain. "Excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to be Fletcher _Tringham_, would you?"

The boy nodded. "Sure am. And this is by older brother, Russell."

Winry smiled. "Well, I'd say it's about time we met in person, so I can thank you for finding Al down under Central five years ago. They poor kid probably would have starved to death if you hadn't found him and brought him to the surface. I'm Winry Rockbell, by the way."

"Ah, so we finally get to meet the famous Winry!" Russell exclaimed, offering his hand. She shook it. "I only wish it could have been at a better time . . . I'm very sorry for your loss."

"'S not your fault," Winry told him. "Don't be sorry. I can only hope that they're happy wherever they are now."

"Al told us a lot about you," Fletcher said. "When we ran into him while he was searching for Ed. He really looked up to you."

Winry snorted. "That's ironic. I always thought it was _me_ looking up to _them, _not the other way around."

. . .

**Central, Amestris**

**1914**

"Edward!" Russell yelled. He and Fletcher had been looking for nearly half an hour, but still hadn't located the missing Elric.

"Hey, Russell!" Fletcher called from about twenty feet away. "I found a kid! It's not Ed, though. And he's unconscious!"

Russell ran over. Fletcher was right, there _was_ a kid there. He looked somewhere between ten and eleven, and had short, light brown hair. "Holy shit! Is he alive?"

Fletcher looked at him as if to say _are you stupid?_ "Yes, he's alive! Let's bring him up to the surface. Edward's clearly not down here. Maybe he found a back entrance or something . . ."

The older Tringham brother nodded and picked up the kid.

When they were back in the church, Rose saw them and ran over. "Where's Ed? And who's that?"

"We don't know," Russell replied. "Let's wake him up and see what he knows."

As if on cue, Rose's baby began to wail, startling the boy into consciousness. He looked around, confused.

Rose rocked her baby back and forth a few times before he stopped crying. She looked down at the boy, who was sitting in one of the pews where Russell had dropped him.

"W-who are you people?" he asked. "Where am I? Where's Brother?"

Rose knew that voice. But, no . . . it couldn't be. He was dead. She had seen him sacrifice himself. "Alphonse?"

He tried to squirm away, a look of horror on his face. "How do you know my name? Where's my brother? Where's Ed? What happened to the study . . .?"

Russell and Fletcher's jaws dropped. "Impossible . . ."

"Brother!" Al screamed. He jumped up and looked all around the room. "What's going on? Where'd you go?"

"Alphonse calm down!" Rose exclaimed. "It's me, Rose. And your friends Russell and Fletcher."

Al shook his head rapidly back and forth. "No . . . I've never met any of you before."

There was a loud bang from the end of the church. The doors flew open. Al jumped at the noise. An angry woman with paper-white skin, furious narrow eyes, and wild black hair stormed in. "Now where are my stupid apprentices?"

"Teacher!" Al exclaimed, happy to see a familiar face. He ran over to her and buried his face in her dress. "I can't find Brother!"

"A-Alphonse?" Her face showed complete shock to once again see the familiar face. "You're . . . you're in a human body."

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Teacher, what's going on? Where's Brother? Where are we?"

Realization hit Izumi like a hard slap across the face on a cold winter's day. She knelt down to eye-level with her student. "Al, how old are you and Ed?"

"I'm ten and Brother's eleven," Al replied. "You know that, Teacher."

"And what year is it?"

"1910."

"Alphonse, I have one more question for you; what's the last thing you remember?" Izumi asked gently.

Al thought a moment, then his eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Teacher I'm so sorry! We did what you told us never to do . . . We were trying to bring our mother back! But then something happened .. . I was being pulled away by these tiny hands . . . It hurt. And Brother was reaching out to me and then . . . I woke up here with those weirdos who know my name!"

He pointed at Rose, Fletcher, and Russell. The trio gasped, truly surprised at what they were hearing.

Izumi collapsed into one of the seats.

"Are you alright?" Al asked her.

She gripped the back of the bench in front of her as hard as she could. "He wouldn't . . . That _idiot!_ Equivalent exchange my ass . . . Oh damn that selfless fool!"

Al's voice was shaky. He looked like he was about to burst into tears. "Teacher, what are you talking about? Where's Edward?"

Izumi took a deep breath. "Al, I'm sorry. But I'm afraid it appears that you're suffering from amnesia. The last four years have apparently been cleared from your mind. You're not 10, you're 14. And Ed was 16, but now I'm think . . . I think he sacrificed himself in order to save you. I . . . I'm pretty sure he's not coming back."

"_What?"_ Al exclaimed. Tears spilled down his face.

"One of you!" Izumi called to the three teens across the church. They all snapped up straight. "Take him home and explain as much as you know . . . I'll follow, but right now I need to go talk with that Mustang guy. Take him to the Rockbell residence, that's where his family is."

She ran out, leaving Al alone again with a bunch of strangers.

The girl, Rose, walked over to him and held out her hand. "Come, Alphonse. I'll take you home to Resembool."

. . .

**Resembool, Amestris**

**1920**

Winry opened the door to her house and stepped inside. She half expected Den to run up and greet her, but then she remembered that Den was in Rush Valley with Granny.

She climbed the steps up to her room, feeling the weight of her loss heavy on her shoulders.

The train ride up until East City hadn't been so bad; at least she had Russell and Fletcher for company. After that though, they had parted ways, and she had been alone.

How would she live for the next two or three weeks while Granny and Den were still away? Never before has she felt so alone.

She lay down on her bed, tears falling down her face.

"What's the point?" she asked the ceiling. She then proceeded to curl up into a ball and let every single sob she had ever held in in her twenty-one years of living pour out all at once.

. . .

Ed and Al ran as fast as they could down the mountainside. They were going down the same trail they had used five years previously when they were running from the military.

"Almost there," Ed panted. "Let's just . . . hope Winry's . . . not there yet!"

"Yeah," Al agreed, equally out of breath. They had been running for about three miles now.

When they reached the bottom of the hill, Alphonse stopped short. "Brother, wait!"

Ed attempted to stop, but ended up fumbling over his fake leg and face planting into the dirt. "Agh!"

Al snickered as his brother pulled himself off the ground, his face and clothes covered in mud. "You look great!"

"Same goes for you," Ed retorted.

Al examined his clothing and saw that he, too, was covered in dirt, and even had some twigs and leaves stuck on here and there.

"Now would you care to explain why we've stopped?" Ed asked.

"It's still too bright out to go into town," Al replied. "What if someone sees us?"

Ed nodded. "You're right . . . So I guess we'll just wait here until it's pitch black out."

Al was silent for a moment, debating whether or not to voice his next comment. He did want to offend his brother but . . . "Are you, uh . . . Are you gonna wash that crap off of you?"

Ed shook his head. "It doesn't really bother me, and besides it's kind of like extra cover up. These people know us, and have known us since we were kids, Al. They'd know my face even at night. Think of it as extra precautions."

Al rolled his eyes. He knew very well that the only real reason was because Ed was just too lazy, but he didn't say anything.

. . .

A few hours later, the brothers stood outside the Rockbell's house. It was around one in the morning, and the only light was coming from the moon and stars.

"Home at last," Al whispered.

Ed grinned. He had been waiting five years for this.

"So . . . Winry's probably sleeping; Granny too," Al said.

Ed hung his head. Nothing could ever just be easy, could it?

He walked over to the side of the house and looped his real leg and only remaining arm around the gutter. He began to pull himself up to Winry's balcony.

"I could have just climbed up and let you in from the inside, Brother," Al pointed out.

"Screw it," came Ed's reply. "I'm not gonna let something as petty as lack of limbs stop me from making a badass entrance."

Al shook his head and climbed up after his brother.

Ed walked over to Winry's window and forced it open. Then he jumped through. Al followed.

When inside, they found a totally dark room with a sleeping Winry in the bed pushed up against the opposite wall.

Alphonse walked over with a huge smile. "Winry!"

"Shh!" Ed hushed him. "Let her sleep . . ."

Al looked closer at her face. "I think she's been crying . . . Her face looks wet."

Ed took a sudden interest in his shoes. "Let's go find some food. I'm starved . . ."

Alphonse nodded and followed his brother out of Winry's room and down into the kitchen.

. . .

_BOOM!_

Winry sat straight up in bed.

. . .

"Are you _trying_ to wake the whole house?" Ed hissed.

"Sorry . . ." Al muttered quietly. He bent down to retrieve the can he had knocked over. Unfortunately, it had rolled under the stove, just out of his arm's reach. "Come on . . ."

. . .

Winry swallowed and grabbed her wrench from her bedside table. Being as quiet as possible, she tip-toed out of her room and down the stairs.

When she entered the kitchen, she saw the reverse side of a tall, muscular man nearly completely covered in mud. The right sleeve of his shirt was empty, and he stood funny, with more pressure on his right leg.

She took a deep breath and charged at him. She slammed her wrench down as hard as she could on his head and ran for the phone. "I'm calling the cops!"

"No!" the man exclaimed, running after her. He used his left arm to catch her by the waist before she could reach the phone. She tried to break free, and continued to swing her wrench but _damn _this guy was strong . . .

"HELP!" she screamed.

"Winry! Cut it out!" he told her. Someone on the other side of the room turned on the lights.

"Calm down, it's us!"

"Winry! Hey, hey!" the man turned her around so she was facing him.

For a moment, she stopped swinging her weapon. She _knew_ those eyes.

She used her free hand to wipe the dried mud off his face. It was . . . No way.

So, what did she do next? Only the natural thing . . .

She fainted.

. . .

**A/N - And so they're home! Dwaaaaaaaaaa 3 **

**XD**

**But seriously, thanks for the reviews! Sorry it's been forever since an update, but this chapter's extra-long so does that make up for it? Yes? Yes?**

**. . .**

**Readers of my head - "Shut up, Ally!"**

**Sorry again! I'll try to work faster, but 8****th**** grade projects are swiftly passing me by!**

**Please review some more, I'm not gonna lie I love it when I can log in and see that people are still reading this XD**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer - I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist**

**A/N - Hey, sorry it's been so long since an update, guys! I've been seriously overworked lately because of crap like 8****th**** Grade projects and tax season (I have job as a CPA's assistant and I have to dedicate a bunch of my time to imputing 1040s and LCCs or LLCs or whatever and all that boring stuff). So I've been kind of stressed out and short on time. So again, so, so sorry!**

**But in other news, I've recently found out that in high school I will be in all honors classes including Latin 1 and Pre-engineering! Yaaaay! Okay sorry that has nothing to do with you I'm just a little too proud of myself . . .**

**Moving on. **

**New chapter!**

. . .

"Come on Winry," Ed pleaded. "Wake up already!"

Ed had carried her over to the sofa and laid her down after she had fallen, unconscious, into his arms. The only problem was - that had been a few hours ago. Ed was kneeling on the ground next to her, trying to wake her up. Al was pacing across the living room.

"What if she's in a coma?" Al panicked. "How are we going to get her to a hospital? We're supposed to be dead!"

"Calm down!" Ed commanded his younger brother. "She's not in a coma! She's just entered a temporary state of shock . . ."

"I knew this was a bad idea!" Al exclaimed, his voice cracking slightly. "This is a high stress situation and I haven't slept in two days . . ."

"Yeah, well your record is four years so I'm not exactly worried," Ed snapped.

Al looked somewhat offended. "Hey!"

Ed took a deep breath. "Sorry . . . That wasn't right. I'm just . . ."

Al shook his head. "Let's just worry about waking her up . . ."

"Winry . . ." Ed shook her shoulders lightly. "Come on, Gearhead . . ."

She mumbled something in auditable and her eye lids began to flick open.

Al rushed over and knelt down next to his brother.

Winry stared up at them for a second. "Be honest . . . How much have I had to drink?"

Grins cracked across the Elrics' faces.

"Nothing, as far as we know," Al told her.

Slowly, she sat up. "Well, then why the hell am I seeing my dead best friends?"

Edward noticed that she had started crying. "Hey, Winry . . . It's okay! Just let us explain . . ."

"We're not really dead!" Al told her.

"No shit," Winry said. "Either that or I'm seeing ghosts . . . Have I been dreaming for five years or something?"

Ed shook his head. "No, Winry . . . We had to stage our own deaths. It was Mustang's idea. We're trying to hide from Envy . . . We put my arm and leg on a fake body and Mustang set off a small explosion. Al and I came here from Central. We were hoping to beat you home so we could explain but . . ."

Winry was silent for a moment, trying to decide if she believed him or not.

Ed looked at Al with a goofy grin, then back to Winry. "Het klinkt een beetje raar, toch weet ik wat ik zeg."

"_What?"_ Winry asked.

"Inside joke," Ed told her. "Now, are you okay?"

Winry grabbed her head and clocked on the head. "Dumbass . . ."

Before Ed had time to react, she did something totally un-Winry like. She grabbed the front of Ed's mud-caked shirt and pulled herself into his chest, sobbing. "You idiots . . . No, I'm not okay!"

Al put his hand on her back and patted gently. "Winry, we're really sorry we had to make you think we were dead."

Winry shook her head. "I know I'm dreaming . . . I must be."

Ed held her out at arms length in order to see her face. "Tell you what? Why don't you go back up to bed? I promise we'll still be here in the morning, and then you'll _have_ to believe us."

Winry shook her head. "I can't . . . I'm afraid . . ."

"Hey, I _promise,"_ Ed repeated. "When have I never broken a promise?"

. . .

When Winry woke up the next morning, she found herself incapable of getting out of bed. What if it had only been a dream? What if she opened the door to the guest room and found it empty?

_He promised,_ she told herself.

After much mental convincing, Winry swung her legs over the side of the bed and let her feet slide down and sit the cool wooden floorboards.

Slowly, she walked from her bed to the door, where she slid her shoes into her slippers. Once in the hallway, she turned left and took exactly five steps, the floor boards creaking under her. When she looked up, she found herself facing the door to the guest room. She placed a hand on the knob, but hesitated to open it. If they weren't there, it would feel like losing them all over again, but she would never know unless she tried.

Cursing her own curiosity, Winry turned the doorknob and pushed it open.

Light was pouring into the room from the small crack between the window and it's curtains. When she looked further into the room, her heart did a few back flips. They were there. Her Elrics, her boys, her best friends . . . Her Ed and her Al. Home at last . . . It was too good to be true.

Al was occupying the bed, his face burrowed under the covers with the rest of him. The only way Winry could tell it was him was by his hair. She sighed and shook her head slightly when she saw that he had multiple leaves tangled in his light brown bird's nest.

She looked over at Ed, who had made himself a make-do bed out of spare blankets on the floor. Winry noticed that his left leg (which was sticking our from under the covers) wasn't automail, but rather normal prothstetic, which explained why he had been standing so lop-sided the night before. He still had mud all over his face, in his hair, and on his clothes.

"What'd he wrestle a pig for his lunch?" she muttered softly. She tip-toed out of the room, and returned a few moments later holding a comb and two wet face-cloths.

First, she walked over to Edward and knelt down next to him. She gently rubbed the damp cloth against his face to remove the mud.

He stirred slightly and looked at her through cracked eyelids. "What are you doing, Winry?"

"Shut up, Alchemy Freak," she muttered. "You're a mess . . ."

He watched as she continued to clean his face, then use the comb to brush dry mud from his bangs. She rose, wiped the comb off on the capri pants she had fallen asleep in. She then walked over to his younger brother, pulled back is comforter a little so she could use the other washcloth to clean the dirt from his nose, forehead, and cheeks. Then, Winry used the comb to get the leaves and twigs out of his hair.

Edward couldn't help but smile a little. It was almost as if Winry had the natural-born instinct to help people. Something she most likely inherited from her parents.

He shut his eyes as she walked by, though he didn't quite know why he would pretend to be asleep. Maybe because he was still too tired for her to make him wake up.

Before exiting the room, Winry paused in the doorway and smiled a little.

"Well, they might be thick and careless," he heard her whisper to no one. "But they're home . . ."

_She must have really missed us_ . . . Ed thought before he drifted back into dreamland.

. . .

**Dublith, Amestris**

Envy, Pride, Lust, and Gluttony walked through the streets of Dublith, trying to draw attention to themselves. They needed the military to come after them, but they couldn't actually capture them. That's why they didn't make an appearance until they were about to depart from wherever they were at the time.

Pride looked around the streets, feeling the oddest sense of déjà vu. Even though she had never been out of Envy's underground hideout until that moment, she felt as though she had seen it all before, a million times.

"Akira?"

Pride turned towards the boy who had called out the name; he was addressing her.

She gasped. She knew him . . . She _remembered?_ But how?

"Akira!" he repeated, trying to get her attention. He had slightly unruly black hair that fell just past his ears. His bangs fell over his pale face, nearly hiding his deep brown eyes. For some reason, Pride knew every single feature of his face by heart. A small scar under his mouth-

_-from the stray cat in the alley,_ she thought. _But how do I know that?_

Pride snapped herself out of it. "No, I'm sorry. You're looking for someone else. My name's not Akira. But if you need held finding her . . .?"

The boy's face fell and he shook his head. "No, I'm sorry . . . I think I'm going crazy. Your hair is black and your eyes are purple, hers were both light brown."

"_Were?"_ Pride repeated.

The boy looked down at the ground. "She died a few months ago . . . There was a car and . . . Again, I'm sorry. My mistake."

The boy then walked away without bothering to say another word.

"I'm sorry," she whispered after him. "Truly . . ."

"Pride!" Gluttony shouted to her. "Move it!"

"Ah, sorry!" Pride turned away and ran off towards her "brother".

When she reached him, she found Lust trying to calm a raging Envy. "Calm down . . . Please you're overreacting!"

"What's happened?" Pride asked.

In response, Gluttony shoved a newspaper from four days prior into her hands. "They're dead."

"Envy, please just listen to reason!" List begged. "Think of the others you seek vengeance on! Mustang! Think of Mustang, he's still alive, right? Let's continue on, complete the Seven, then go forth with our plan!"

Envy paused his tantrum and straightened out his back. "You're right. The best revenge I can get now is to kill all the humans those stupid brothers tried to hard to protect!"

. . .

**Resembool, Amestris**

Edward awoke again a few ours later to the sweet smell of pancakes. He and Al went downstairs and found Winry in the kitchen, cooking.

"Mmm, breakfast!" Al said happily. "I'm gonna go take a quick shower, make sure to save me some!"

He ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the bathroom.

Winry smiled. "He acts like nothing's changed . . ."

Ed shrugged. "It's Al. He's always been a little oblivious."

"He's sweet," Winry corrected. "I wish I could act that way; just let things go back to normal. Well . . . _our_ normal. But every time I look at you I feel like I'm seeing a ghost."

Ed noticed that her eyes were glued to her hands; not looking at him. "I-I'm . . . uh, sorry, Winry. For making you think Al and I were dead."

She looked up at him, slightly surprised. "It's okay . . . You did what you had to do to hide from Envy. I'd rather that than you actually being killed by him. Especially now that he's got that creepy Gluttony guy that eats people-"

"What?" Ed asked, bewildered.

"Well, when I saw him outside the hardware store, he had these two freaky people he called Lust and Gluttony with him and-"

"You went _near_ him?" Edward's voice rose slightly.

"I was just asking him a question," Winry explained; startled by his reaction. "Which, might I add, he did not answer."

Before she had time to process what was going on, Ed had crossed the kitchen and used his arm to pull her into his chest.

"Winry, don't you ever go anywhere remotely close to a homunculus again, do you hear me?" his voice was stern. "You're lucky you weren't killed!"

She pulled away from him, blushing. It wasn't like Ed to act like that . . . There must be something else bothering him. She needed to change the subject. "I'm going to start on your automail later, I only have one customer scheduled today, then I'm all yours."

"How long do you think it's going to take?" Ed asked her.

She flipped a few pancakes on to his plate. "How long was it last time?"

Three days," Ed replied.

"Then I'll have it by tomorrow night," she said with a wink.

He chuckled. "I think that's impossible even for you."

She grinned. "You'll just see . . ."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. So when this customer comes should Al and I go down to the basement?"

Winry shook her head. "Won't be necessary. He's blind and the only other person that comes with him is his orphaned niece who he takes care of, and she's a toddler."

"Brilliant," Ed replied. He shoved the fork in his mouth and sighed. "These are really good, Winry. Much better than the time your tired to cook us breakfast when we were kids . . ."

"I was eight!" she defended.

"And now we're twenty-one."

"Pretty old . . ."

"Yep," he agreed. "But still like family."

"Not 'like' family, _'a'_ family," Winry told him. "Don't forget that."

Ed smiled. There were those words again. _Don't forget._

After a few moments, Winry spoke. "I waited, you know. For five years I waited . . . I refused to give up on you."

"Really?" Ed asked. "You never just once . . . Assumed?"

She gave him another pancake. "At first, I was sure I'd never see you again. But then I thought about when you and Al were still trying to get your bodies back . . . You guys hadn't come home once in nearly four years, and when you did, it was because you had completely destroyed your arm and Al was just a pile of scraps. I figured that someday the two of you would find your way back; needing repairs."

She tapped his empty automail part and winked. "Look at that; I was right."

Ed opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Al reentering the kitchen, wrapped in a towel. "Hey, Winry; Brother and I don't have any other clothes."

"Check the upstairs linen closet; Granny and I always keep some extra stuff in there for our patients."

"Thanks!" Al exited the room again.

"You." Winry pointed at Edward. "Shower. Now."

Ed stood up and bowed. "Yes, your royal highness."

Winry rolled her eyes and watched as Edward walked out of the room. He paused in the doorway, and called out in English, "God save the Queen!"

"What?" Winry asked.

Ed left without answering.

. . .

About ten minutes later, Winry left Al at the kitchen table and went upstairs to change out the brothers' dirty sheets. Ed was still in the shower, so Winry didn't bother to knock before entering.

First, she went to the bed and yanked off the quilt and sheets, which she shoved into the hamper on the farther side of the room. Then she took Al's pillow case. On top of his mattress, she left a folded pile of clean blankets.

_He's nearly twenty now,_ Winry thought. _He can make up his own bed._

She walked over to Ed's make-do sleeping bag on the floor and did the same thing. When she lifted the pillow, however, she found something entirely new.

It was a photograph, with about 20 or so people smiling up at her. Some of them she recognized; Ed and Al, Mustang and Hawkeye (although they looked a little different, something about them that she couldn't exactly pin point), Gracia, Granny, Fletcher, Russell, one girl who looked an awful lot like Rose . . . Then it got weird. She saw two people who couldn't possibly have been there; herself and the late General Maes Hughes.

She picked up the photograph and walked over to Al's bed, where she sat. She flipped the picture over and read the writing on the back.

_From left to right; Mrs. Williamson, Patricia, Wendy, Roy, Lisa, Edward (with Amanda), Alphonse (with Lewis), Noah, Fletcher, Nina, Russell, Mr. Andrews, Mrs. Andrews, Gracia, and Hughes._

Winry flipped the paper over again and took a closer look at the girl called "Wendy". When she looked harder, she saw that while they bear a striking resemblance; Wendy was clearly a few years older.

She looked at the back again. Below all the names was a note.

_Ed,_

_Remember; you're always welcome. We love you, and this is your home too. Happy 21__st__ birthday!_

_With love,_

_Lisa, Roy, Mandy, & Lewis_

"Hmm . . ." Winry once again turned to the front of the photo and looked at Ed and Al's faces. They were both smiling and appeared to be happy. But where were they? And who were they with?

Winry jumped when she heard the water from the shower turn off. She ran back to Ed's pillow and shoved the photo under it. She then ran from the room.

In the hallway, she was so frazzled that she accidentally ran right into Edward.

"Whoa, slow down there," Ed told her jokingly.

She stepped back and opened her mouth to apologize when he noticed that the only thing he was wearing was a towel around his waist. Her complexion quickly changed to that of a tomato. _God, when did he get so muscular? Gah! I did _not_ just think that!_

She was about to turn around and keep walking back to the kitchen so that he could get dressed when she noticed something. She reached out and rested her hand over his heart, her face now back to it's normal color.

"This scar . . ." she said. "What's it from? I've never seen it on you . . ."

"He pulled away. "N-nothing! I, uh fell . . . And yes you have, three years ago in Central."

Winry shook her head. "No, you were wearing a t-shirt under your clothes that day."

He was silent. His eyes were pleading for her to just drop it.

"Ed," she said sternly. "Turn around."

For a moment, he looked as though he were ready to argue, but then, he sighed and did as she asked.

When Winry saw his back, she gasped. There was a scar there too; clearly an exit wound from whatever pierced his chest. "It went right through! But, how . . .?"

Ed turned around to face her. "You mean Rose didn't tell you about it at all?"

"Tell me _what?"_ Winry asked; on the verge of hysterics. "Edward where the hell have you been?"

Ed's eyes nearly popped out of his head. She was about to do the crying thing. He gestured towards his and Al's bedroom. "Just let me get dressed, then I promise, I'll explain everything!"

Winry didn't even blink. Ed took that as a "yes" and left her standing alone in the hallway.

_Whatever that was must have gone right through his heart,_ Winry thought. _I never really figured out how Al got his body back . . . What if Ed gave up part of his organs like Izumi did? What if he's going to die soon anyway, after all that?_

Edward returned after what felt like hours. Winry hadn't moved a muscle.

"Okay . . ." she said after a moment. "I'm ready. Tell me everything."

Ed sighed and motioned for her to follow him. They went down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Al was sitting at the table eating his pancakes. Ed and Winry took the two seats across from him.

"Now, Winry," Ed said gently, earning him a startled glance from Alphonse. "I promise to tell you everything. But it _has_ to stay a secret. Just like always."

Winry swallowed. _This must be serious if he's actually reminding me to keep my mouth shut._

"Al you know; when Al and I were kids, we tried to resurrect our mother, and obviously failed," Ed began. "What we actually created was a homunculus, which is-"

"An artificial human," Winry recited. "I remember you saying something about it when my parents died. You actually made one?"

Ed nodded grimly. "It looked just like out mother, and even had some of her memories; but she _wasn't_ our mom. She and the other homunculi wanted the Philosopher's Stone-"

"What for?" Winry asked.

"Dante - Teacher's teacher - was their master, and also our father's ex-girlfriend or wife or whatever. They had a son, who died and when Hohenheim tried to bring him back, he created Envy. But anyway, Dante and our dad were actually both over 400 year old, and they managed to live this long by stealing other people's bodies and attaching their souls using the stone."

Winry looked repulsed. "Your dad did that? That's disgusting."

Al nodded. "It gets worse. Dante planned on stealing Rose's body and then forcing Brother to be her sex slave!"

Ed's face turned bright red. "That's not true! She wanted to force me to marry her, which is _totally_ different!"

_Edward Elric: Orphan, child soldier, almost-sex slave. Alphonse Elric: Orphan, ex-disembodied soul,_ Winry thought. _When all this blows over, I'm calling a psychologist._

"I still don't get what that has to do with you," Winry said aloud.

"Right, I was getting to that," Ed continued, forgetting about his brother's comment. "Dante wanted to use us as her pawns to get the stone. She _did_ end up making one in Lior, out of a bunch of soldiers-"

"_Out of?"_

"A philosopher's stone is made of human souls," Al mentioned. "I thought we've been over this . . ."

"Everything you guys say is like a bussing in my ears," Winry told him honestly. "It takes a few tries for me to make sense of anything. And not to mention you're both terrible explainers, you leave out the most important details."

"We do not!" Ed defended. "As I was saying; they _did_ make a stone. But it was made _inside_ Al's armor. Somehow, it was attached to his soul. The homunculi kidnapped him and trapped me in a parallel universe. I wasn't in my own body though; I was in my other worldly doppelganger-"

"_What?"_

"I'll get to that in a second. When I escaped, Envy and I started fighting, and he stabbed me through the hear; killing me," Ed told her.

Winry's eyes stung. How was that even possible? She poked Ed's shoulder. He was solid.

"So I sacrificed myself and used the stone to bring Brother back," Al explained. "Then, he used alchemy to pull me back through the gate (which is the portal between dimensions) and in return, he became stuck there for two years until that whole thing in Central. Then I went back with him and regained my lost memories."

Winry's head was spinning. There they went skipping the important parts again.

"In the other universe, everyone who exists there has a double here, and vice versa," Ed added.

_Well, that explains the picture . . ._ Winry thought. _But everything else . . ._

'Could you repeat that?" she asked. "But slower."

. . .

After going through the story at least five times (each time with deeper and deeper detail) Winry was confident she understood nearly everything.

"But, wait," she said, suddenly thinking of something potentially important. Something Ed had left out. "Ed's not a homunculus because you used the Philosopher's Stone, right Al?"

The younger brother nodded. "Right."

"But Ed didn't have the Philosopher's Stone, so how do we know that you're not one? Like Wrath; you just don't know it. Come to think of it, he didn't remember anything either, did he?"

"I never even thought of that! What if I really am a homunculus? Before Wrath ate human souls, he looked like any normal person!" Al exclaimed, easily slipping into crisis mode.

Winry sunk down in her chair a little. She had been expecting some straight, scientific answer. "Well, I mean I'm sure you're not Al it was just a stupid question I'd figured you had already thought of . . ."

Ed shook his head. "No, Al can't be a homunculus. I didn't bring him back to life - he was never dead. He was just on the other side of the gate. He probably doesn't remember it because he was passed out; like when Russell and Fletcher Tringham found him. All I did was trade places with him. Simple alchemy."

Al sighed. "Well, that's a relief."

"You're way too gullible, Al. First you thought I created you and gave you fake memories; now you've totally convinced yourself that you were a homunculus in under two seconds," Ed told him. "You really need to work on that . . ."

Alphonse opened his mouth to defend himself, but was interrupted by the doorbell. He jumped out of his chair. "Winry, who is it?"

"Just that blind man I was telling Ed about," Winry murmured as she stood up and went to answer the door. Ed got up and followed after her.

"Good morning!" Winry greeted when she opened the door.

"'Morning, Winry," the man replied. His eyes were glassy blue and unfocused. His black hair was sticking up in all different places, and the buttons of his shirt were unaligned. "You remember my niece, Amanda."

Ed's eyes shot down to meet a set of wide blue ones belonging to a tangled black haired toddler who appeared to have dressed herself. Bright blue sneakers, a frilly red dress shirt, and high-water kaki pants. The spitting image of a slightly raggedy Amanda Stanley.

Winry bent down so she was closer in height with the toddler. "Hey, Amanda!"

She wrinkled her nose at Winry.

Ed almost laughed. "I'll bet you like people to call you 'Mandy', huh?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!"

Winry looked from Ed to the girl, then back again. She shook it off. "Okay, Mr. Frederick, come on in. This is one of my other customers, Ed; by the way."

The blind man held out his hand. "Henry, please."

Edward shook it. "Nice to meet you."

"Ed, why don't you take Mandy to the waiting room while I work on Mr. Frederick's arm?"

Ed nodded and motioned for Amanda to follow him. "Come on, I think I know where some old card games are. Can you count?"

"I'm two and a half."

"And you can't count?" Ed's voice was getting fainter as the two of them made their way down the hall.

"To ten," Winry heard Amanda reply before their voices completely faded out.

"He's not so bad," Henry said. "Mandy's really smart for her age, and unlike most two-year-olds, she doesn't warm up to people that quickly. Especially men . . . Ed must have little kids or something, right?"

"Oh God, no!" Winry replied, shaking her head quickly. Then she stopped herself. Why did she find that so strange? They were adults now, and he very well could have had children on the "other side" of that gate thing he and Al kept talking about. The thought seriously disturbed her but she wasn't sure why. It was perfectly normal to have little kids at their age.

Henry raised and eyebrow as he began walking towards the automail room.

. . .

Pride jumped to the next tree branch, panting hard. She and Lust were hoping from tree to tree in the forest outside Resembool. "Why did _we_ have to come kill the Rockbell girl?"

Lust, who was a few trees behind her, sighed. "Because apparently Envy needed to round up that new homunculus ASAP, and Gluttony's too lazy to go so we were the natural choice."

"Damn them," Pride muttered under her breath. "She lifted her hand and a tree branch flew out in front of her, creating a bride between her and the next few yards of forest.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Lust cried.

Pride shook her head. "I can't hear you over the uh, wind! Yeah, the wind."

"Little brat . . ." Lust was grinning a little though.

When they were out of the forest, Lust leaned backwards until she heard a sharp _crack!_ "Ah . . . That fells better. Let's do this quickly."

As they approached the Rockbell house, their superhuman hearing picked up on voices.

"Ed's not a homunculus because you used the Philosopher's Stone, right Al?"

"Right."

Ride and Lust glanced at each other, then simultaneously began sprinting towards the house.

They listened at the door for a few minutes, then Lust shook her head. "It must be them. The Elrics . . . We have to tell Envy."

"What about the Rockbell girl?"

"Excuse me," a man's voice said.

The two homunculi turned around to see a man in his mid-thirties who was clearly blind standing before them, holding the hand of a small girl. "Are you here for automail as well?"

Lust snapped her fingers and the man's face suddenly became confused, then back to normal. "Alright Mandy, help me up to the door now."

The little girl looked up at Pride and Lust. "Huh?"

Lust held a finger to her lips and as she and Pride snick past the man and down the hill.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer - I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist**

**A/N - SORRY SORRY SORRY! I know it's been forever and I'm really sorry! The time just kind of slipped away . . . But 8****th**** grade projects are over, so I'll have a lot more time now! And I'm on school vacation, so I might even have another chapter up soon. This one's kinda short and I'm sorry but it's really more of a filler, I guess. **

. . .

"Winry, I swear it; God sent you to this world as a gift to all its other inhabitants," Henry said as he flexed his arm. "I can't feel a thing anymore. Totally painless. How much do I owe you?"

Winry smiled at the compliment. "Thank you! But, don't worry about it, all I did was make some minor adjustments."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Of course. Now why don't we go save Mandy from Ed and Al . . ."

Henry chuckled and rose to his feet. He slif his shirt back on, hastily buttoning it. In the end, his collar was uneven, but for a blind man it was pretty impressive.

He followed behind Winry as she walked down the hall and into the living room, where she found Ed, Al, and Mandy sitting on the couch. Al was reading a book he had pulled off the shelf. Ed was sitting with Mandy sprawled out across him, totally unconscious.

Ed had the trace of a smile on his face as he watched her sleep, as if something about it made him happy.

"Oddly quiet in here," Henry noted.

"S-she's asleep," Winry muttered in amazement. Winry had known Amanda for nearly a year now (thanks to her uncle's false arm) and she had never seen the kid _sit down,_ never mind fall asleep. She was an incredibly hyperactive child. "How did you get her to sleep?"

Ed grinned modestly. "It wasn't that hard. We played for a little, then she got bored and asked me to tell her stories. So I did and she passed out."

"What kind of stories?" Henry asked. "She's always been bored with nursery rhymes."

Ed shrugged. "Just a made-up place called London, and a farm on top of a hill."

Henry was clearly impressed. "I'll have to ask her about it when she wakes up. Until then, would you mind helping me to the door?"

Ed stood up and passed the sleeping toddler into Henry's arms. "Would you like for Al or I to help you back to your house?"

Henry shook his head. "I live in East City, and I know how to get to the train station on my own. Thank you for the offer though."

"You come here from East City?" Al asked, glancing up from his novel.

Henry nodded. "I've been coming to the Rockbells' for years, I wasn't about to let a job transfer stop me."

Winry lightly grabbed his arm and started towards the door. "And you'll be sure to keep it oiled?"

Henry nodded. He opened the door and stepped outside. "Thanks again."

When the door shut behind him, Winry spun around so she was facing Edward. "When did _you_ get so good with kids?"

Ed chuckled. "Not _kids,_ _kid._ On the other side, the people we stayed with had a daughter who was the other Amanda."

"Really?" Winry asked. "But weren't you staying with the other Mustang and Hawkeye?"

Al nodded. "Yeah, but like we said, in that world they're married with two kids."

"I'm just used to her," Ed explained. "I've known her since the day she was born, in a way."

"I feel bad about leaving her," Al admitted. "She begged and cried for us to stay . . . I felt like a monster."

Ed nodded, then turned back to Winry. "But honestly, I'm clueless with kids."

_It sure as hell didn't seem that way,_ Winry thought. _Ed really did seem to know what he was doing. Perhaps he really _is_ the father-type. That's a strange thought._

"So did either of your doubles get married of have kids before they died?" she asked.

Ed's face turned bright red and steam flew out from his ears. His eyes disappeared under his bangs when he ducked his head.

_Was that a yes then?_

"Actually," Al told her. "No. Edward Matthews was engaged, but that's it. Nothing final."

Some little, over-protective part of Winry switched on. Ed was engaged? Well, the other Ed, but still. "To who?"

"It doesn't matter," Ed snapped. "Could you please just get started on my automail? Having one arm is a real pain in the ass . . ."

Winry sighed. "Yeah, sorry . . ."

. . .

"What do you mean?" Gluttony asked.

"I _mean_ they're alive!" Lust snapped into the telephone. "How many times do I have to say it?"

"Those clever bastards . . ." Gluttony muttered. "Well, Envy will be please. Where are you two?"

"We'll be in West City by tomorrow night," Lust told him. "We're going to travel through the night."

"Hmm," Gluttony said. "Once Envy gets back from his trip to the newsstand I'll let him know."

"So how's the newbie?" Lust asked.

"Hungry." Gluttony chuckled. "I feel bad . . . Poor gyu fell off a bridge three years ago. His daughter tried to bring him back."

"What's his name?"

"Sloth."

"Is he _useful?"_

"We're not sure yet," Gluttony said. "Maybe by the time you and Pride get back."

"Yeah. See you then." She placed the phone back and stepped out of the booth.

"Lust?" Pride asked in a small voice. She had been standing outside, waiting. Her head was bent down and her arms crossed at her waist.

"What?" Lust asked, trying not to notice.

"My name . . . before, I mean. What was it?"

"It doesn't matter," Lust snapped. She began walking away swiftly. "Let's hurry."

"Please," Pride begged. "I need to know."

Lust halted in her steps. Rain began to hit the pavement, causing dark circles to appear. She sighed. "Akira, I think. Akira Michaels."

Pride tried to sound indifferent. "Oh . . . Okay. Thank you, Lust."

_That boy knew me!_ She thought. _And I must have known him. Oh . . . I don't get what was so bad about Old Lust. I mean, what's so terrible about wanting to be human? To remember . . ."_

. . .

**Two Days Later**

"Morning!" Winry shouted into the Elrics' bedroom. "Wake up!"

Ed and Al groggily sat up.

"Ugh, what do you want?" Ed asked.

"I finished your automail last night, and I told you I'd put it on you this morning," Winry replied.

"You're not even gonna wait until Aunt Pinako gets home?" Al asked.

Winry shook her head. "Nah, I don't need any help. I know what I'm doing."

Ed stood up. "Let's get this over with."

"Oh, don't be a baby," Winry told him. "Honestly, you've got to be used to the pain by now."

"There are something you just never get used to," Ed told her, a little over-dramatically.

. . .

Later that day, Ed, Al, and Winry sat in the living room together, and they couldn't help but be reminded of the way things were _before._

Al was continuing the book he had started two days prior, now about three quarters into it. Winry was leaned over the coffee table, tinkering with a few pieces of scrap metal. Ed was perched on the couch's armrest, trying to break in his new arm by flexing it repeatedly.

Suddenly, Winry stopped what she was doing and looked up at the brothers. "You're going to leave soon, aren't you?"

Ed shrugged honestly. "I'm not sure. I mean, eventually we're going to have to go find and defeat the homunculi. And if what we're hearing about Envy making more of them is true, then we should go sooner rather than later . . ."

Winry sighed and placed her wrench down on the table. "I'm going with you."

Al's eyes shot up from his book and met his brother's.

"Winry, we can't let you-" Al began.

"Don't say that crap anymore!" Winry exclaimed. "You always tell me it's too dangerous, but when will you learn that I _don't care._ I love you guys and I want to help you help others. I'm twenty now; not a little kid anymore."

Ed and Al exchanged nervous glances. They both knew damn well that there was no way to change her mind.

"You don't know how to fight," Al pointed out weakly.

"I'll learn!" Winry exclaimed. "I'm sick of just waiting. I don't want to be like Granny and just spend my life waiting for people who never come back!"

Ed flinched a little; startled by her outburst. He reached out a hand to her shoulder. "Winry, it sounds like you've put a lot of thought into that."

"Five years," she told him bitterly. Then, in a smaller voice, she added, "_they_ never came back."

"We're not your parents, Winry," Ed told her.

"You very well could be!" she shouted. "You're not immortal, Edward!"

Al sighed. "Okay, Brother. I'll teach Winry a few simple defense moves, I don't mind."

Edward looked at his best friend. The truth was, he _hated_ leaving her behind. Ever since he was eleven, he had been forcing himself to refrain from asking her to join them. Now she was _begging_ to come along. How could he possibly say no? His willpower wasn't that great. "Alright, Winry . . . But you have to let Al teach you some fighting tricks, and I'll teach you about homunculi."

Winry beamed. "Really?"

Ed scratched the back of his neck. "I guess so . . ."

She jumped off the couch and tackled him in a giant bear hug. Then she squeezed Al and ran from the room. "I'm gonna go to the store and stock up on trail mix!"

"Good idea," Al agreed, though he doubted she heard him.

Winry pulled her jacket no over her shoulders and opened the door, only to find herself wait-to-face with Pinako. "_Granny?_ What are you doing back so soon?"

"Pick up a newspaper lately?" Pinako asked. She entered the house with Den at her heels. "I figured I should come for moral support, but then I saw a brown top with it's head in a book from the window and pieced it all together."

Hearing this, Ed jumped up and ran over to close the curtains in the window behind Al. "Damn it!"

Pinako chuckled. "Hello, boys."

Al walked over and gave her a quick squeeze. "Good to see you, Aunt Pinako."

. . .

**(Under) Western City, Amestris**

**One Week Later**

Pride looked at her new "brother" from her seat on the other side of the underground safe house. She really didn't understand the "family" thing. Sloth looked old enough to be her father, with a bald heard and purple catlike eyes that all the homunculi had. His skill was something Envy called the "ultimate shield", just like Old Greed had had. Sloth was strange; at least Pride though so. The only person he was ever kind to was Envy. TI was as if everyone else was constantly testing his patience. Pride suspected that Sloth felt somehow in debt to Envy for "saving" him and feeding him red stones. Maybe it was easy for Sloth to feel that way, because Sloth had been created without Envy's influence. Prude however, resented Envy for convincing her mortal father to create her. She hated not remembering what it was like to be a human, but when she did remember, she was terrified. Lust said that homunculi don't have souls, but how could that be true? Pride could feel, so doesn't that alone count as proof of her soul? Hell, did she even believe in souls? If you wanna break down to the science of it all, humans were just a bunch of chemicals mixed together. So where do souls even come from? And when do they get added on to the body?

Pride shook her head. She hated not knowing these things. She also hated having to question them in the first place. When she had been a human, she had never questioned the existence of her own soul.

"You look like you're really thinking about something," Gluttony said.

Pride jumped at the sound of his voice. "It's nothing . . ."

Well, then why weren't you paying attention?" Sloth snapped. "Envy asked you a question."

"O-oh I'm sorry!" Pride exclaimed.

"We still need a Greed and a Wrath," Envy repeated. "We're voting on where to go next. North, or Central?"

"Wouldn't Central be dangerous?" Pride asked.

"We could take them," Sloth said. "I mean, they're only _humans."_

Pride glanced down at the ouroboros tattoo on the inside of her wrist. "We'll have to kill them?"

The other four homunculi laughed out loud. They couldn't believe how stupid she sounded.

"Of course!" Lust cried through her hysterical giggles. "What should you care? You know what you had to eat in order to gain that form?"

"Red stones," Pride replied, not at all understanding.

"What the hell do you think those are made of, Dumbass?" Sloth asked. "Human souls!"

Pride wrapped her arms around her stomach. "You guys were serious about that?"

The adults just laughed harder at Pride's naiveté. She, on the other hand, wanted to throw up.

"We'll go to the North," Envy said when he was done laughing. "To spare Pride's _innocence._ For now, anyway."

. . .

**Resembool, Amestris**

"Winry, this is your last chance to turn around," Edward reminded her. "After this you're stuck with us."

"I did _not_ go through hours of fighting and homunculi 101 just to back out." She grabbed his hand with her right and Al's with her left. "Besides, I've been stuck with you guys since I was born."

The three of them waved goodbye to Pinako and Den and started down the path.

"Come back with a wide, Edward!" Pinako called after them as they walked away.

Ed froze for a moment, then spun around so he could see her. "What the hell are you talkin' about, Midget?"

He was then hit in the head with the all-familiar wrench.

"Don't disrespect your elders," Winry scolded him. "Now let's go."

She and Al continued walking, but Ed stayed put, waiting for Pinako's reply. "Well?"

"I think you'll figure it out eventually," she told him.

He gave her a skeptical look before he turned around and ran to catch up with Winry and his brother.

"So where are we going first?" Winry asked.

"According to Mustang, Envy was last spotted in the South with four other people; two men, a woman, and a teenage girl," Al said. "That means he only needs two more before he has all seven."

"He's already been to East City, Dublith, Resembool, West City, and probably a few places in between. That leaves the North and Central, if I'm guessing his plan correctly," Ed continued.

"Going to Central isn't the best idea," Winry pointed out. "You guys were just found dead there."

"So, to the North we go," Ed agreed.


	14. News Update

**Hola internet!**

**Okay, sorry it's been so long and I'm sorry I can't put a chapter up right now, but my laptop (sadly) has broken yet again, and this time I had already written the next chapter on it when it broke. Since I'm lazy as fuck and don't feel like rewriting it, I'm just going to wait to update. So, right now we're on a break. In the meantime, I'll be working on a Kaze No Stigma fanfic on my home computer, so . . . If you've seen that please check it out as soon as it's up!**

**ALSO! I have changed my penname to Akira Sage, so that it matches my fictionpress acount (I have a story up about the Princes in the Tower with 0 comments so it'd be nice if you ever have some free time and wann check it out).**

**Again, I'm sorry! My Uncle is fixing it as fast as he can!**


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